Mitsuki's Love Story
by Captain P-Sparrow
Summary: Mitsuki is just an ordinary high school student who, one day, stumbles into the world of Shugo Chara when Shiro is born. What happens when she gets mixed up in Amu, Ikuto, and Tadase's issues? Will she change the Shugo Chara world forever? (She actually does, it's a HUGE finale)
1. Chapter 1

***by the way, Mitsuki is supposed to look like Kampfer Natsuru/Natsuru Senou as a female but with green eyes. And Yumiko is supposed to look like skinny Takagi Saya from Highschool of the Dead(the fact that she's skinny will be important in the story later on). Mitsuki & Yumiko also share the same voices as Natsuru & Takagi.**

* * *

I grunted a little in strain.

"Hang on a minute, let me get a tighter grip on the strap," she said.

"I think…" I grunted again as she pulled "…we need to adjust it again."

I sighed in relief as she finally gave up and let go "This isn't the right size," she said.

Mom and I were trying to find new bras for me, so far we've been unsuccessful.

"We've used every strap size they have," I said.

"I'm pretty sure its not the strap size that's changed," said Mom "Its the cup size."

She held up the D-cup shaking her head "I think you've gone up a cup or two over the summer."

"Over the summer?" I questioned "That's only two and a half months!"

"Well you're 16, Mitsuki," said Mom "You're still growing," she turned me around and looked me in the eye "Yep, you're almost as tall as me."

I was a pretty tall girl, not so much that I stood out from other girls.

"I'm going to go grab some E's and we'll see how they fit," she said.

"Okay," I said.

She left me standing there topless, which made me realize how cold these changing rooms are.

School was coming up soon and we were updating my closet for the return. Y'know, checking to see if any of my uniforms or under clothes needed to be replaced. So far, I've only needed to get new skirts and bras. I grew a little taller over summer break and that made my skirts look a little too short for my liking.

"'kay, I got one in white, beige, and black," Mom said as she returned "Let's try this one on." She pulled out a random bra and helped me slip it on.

Click.

"It fits!" Finally the endless search was over!

"Right, so we've got the right size: E34," said Mom.

"Now," I said, turning around with a huge smile on my face "Let's get one in all the craziest patterns and colors!"

Mom rolled her eyes "You and your fashion obsession."

* * *

I reached up to an empty spot on the wall "Almost…." You'd think with how tall I was, this would be an easy task.

Finally, I smacked the paper on the wall "Gotcha!"

I was posting a picture of a pattern I found on one of the clothes I saw at the store. My bedroom wall had small clusters of pictures spread all around, the pictures would range from patterns to drawings to fancy signatures. Call me an aspiring artist, it seems appropriate.

Before summer break, a few of us were told that this week, there would be an after school party for the band and choir students. Being the most popular artist in the school, the teachers asked me to help decorate. So I've making a few sketches of what I had in mind.

And I think I have the perfect idea.

* * *

This year I decided to keep fit and take my bike to school. I always got around town through this dirt path in a park forest. I loved this forest, the tree tops were open enough to let tons of sunshine in.

I was riding along the path calmly when out of nowhere, someone walked out in the middle of the path.

I swerving radically, dodging the person. But I ended up falling off the bike and skidding on my side.

Ouch.

"Oh god! Are you alright?" said a familiar male voice.

I blushed when I looked up to see Ikuto above me. He helped me up before I could answer him "Sorry about that," he said.

I rubbed some dirt out of my eye "It's fine," I said "At least you didn't get hit," I glanced over at the bike.

He saw me glance and asked "Is the bike alright?"

"It's alright," I answered as I started to pick it up "Not a single scratch."

"You sure you're okay?" he asked.

I smiled and said "I feel fine, really," and rode away "I'll see ya later!"

I met Ikuto over the summer at the park once. Now I know what you're thinking: How can I remember a guy I only met once at a park? Well, if noticed how I blushed when I saw him, then you've probably guessed that I have a little crush on him. He was cute, tall, and really smooth and smart. Unfortunately, I don't think he remembers me too well.

* * *

I arrived at the school and parked my bike. I had to stretch afterwards, especially from that fall. I walked into the school and searched for my class.

Now, I may have said I was the most popular artist in school, but that didn't mean I, myself, was popular. People treated me nicely, so I had tons of acquaintances. But, close friends? Not a one.

Well, not everyone treated me nicely. Ever since I started gaining popularity here at school, I've had this weird feeling that this one girl named Yumiko hates me. She always acts like I'm pestering her when I'm around. I try to shake it off.

I opened the door to the classroom, apparently I interrupted a story being told by -you guessed it- Yumiko.

But as soon as I took the first step into the classroom, everybody turned towards me.

"Oooh! Mitsuki!" "Congratulations!" "Good luck!" "You're so talented!"

They all shot these happy, excited statements at me. For a split second, I was confused, but then I remembered.

"You guys heard about me getting picked to decorate the gym for the party?" I asked.

"Duh! Who hasn't heard?"

I smiled and thanked them, this was a pretty shining moment for me right now.

"Ahem!"

The room fell silent as everyone stared at Yumiko, who looked very disapproving "Don't you guys want to hear the rest of what happened last week?"

Everyone quickly went back saying "Oh yeah, I forgot for a minute." and "Sorry, keep going."

I shrugged and went to my desk.

I'll let her have her moment.

* * *

Free time, perfect.

I grabbed my pictures in my hand and left the classroom, I wanted to go to the art room to ask the teacher for some of those special colored pencils.

I turned a corner and almost bumped into someone "I-Ikuto?"

"Oh, you're that girl from earlier," he said.

"Yeah," I said, brushing the hair out of my face, thinking "_Hell, he really doesn't remember my name from when we met this summer._"

"I didn't know you went to the same school as me," I said outloud.

"Well neither did I," he said with a little joke in his tone.

"Hey, she's kinda cute -nya," said a voice.

I knew it wasn't Ikuto, and I knew the voice didn't come from anyone I recognized.

Just then, I saw the faint outline of what appeared to be a pixie-like cat-boy.

"Huh?" I blinked a few times. The mischievous little cat-boy was still there, and it seemed like for a split second, Ikuto glared at him.

"Um, well, I've gotta go," I said, feeling both awkward and a little alarmed.

* * *

"Done!"

When I finished the paper, it was exploding with sparkling colors and texture.

I scratched my nose only to realized I had sparkles and color streaks all over my hands, and most likely it was on my face and clothes too.

Whatever, I didn't care. I got the job done, and when the decorating was done, I would still have these beautiful pictures to myself.

I neatly put the pictures into my folder and left. Immediately, I bumped into someone.

"Ow! Watch where you're- Oh, it's you," Yumiko said glaring at me.

"Sorry," I said.

"Ugh," she said when she looked down at herself "You got dirt and glitter all over me!"

I looked to realize that the dirt from when I fell off my bike and the glitter from the art room covered the both of us now.

"Oh shoot, I'm sorry Yumiko!" I said "Don't worry, we can just go to the washroom and get some towels to wipe it off."

"Just because you're a starving artist, doesn't mean you have to conduct yourself like one," she said, she began to walk away as she said "Here's a tip, stop acting like a trashy girl starving for attention. Its not a cute look."

* * *

That last sentence really pissed me off.

I was in the washroom brushing the dirt and glitter off my clothes.

"_Why would she think I'm trashy? Or starving for attention?_" I thought "_But….I do get a lot of attention from people. And typically that attention is what motivates me to make my art. But…"_ I looked up in the mirror "_Trashy?_" In my reflection, I could see that no matter how much effort I put into cleaning my uniform, the residue wouldn't budge.

I slapped the towel on the edge of the sink in anger "That isn't me at all!"

"_Yumiko has no right to tell me who I am. She doesn't even know me,_" I thought "_I know who I am. I'm a brilliant artist. If she can see that, that's her problem._"

All of a sudden, an egg dropped into the sink in front of me.

Wait, an egg?

I took a closer look at it. It was pale blue with white doves around it and white stripes beside it.

I was tempted to pick it up, but it opened before I could even act.

Out popped a small white haired girl with white pants and a shirt and a jacket and glasses that were the same pale blue as the egg "Mitsuki, such a pleasure to see you," she said in a mature tone.

I was about to speak, but the girl said "I know you don't fully understand what's happening right now, so allow me to inform you. I'm Shiro, I'm your Guardian Character, or a physical representation of your deepest desire. I represent your desire to show the world that you're a brilliant artist."

"Amazing…." was all I could say.

"I'm going to stay with you for as long as you need me," said Shiro "So remember, I'll always be with you."

She flew down and grabbed her eggshell "Now, let's go decorate that gym!"

* * *

"So do you understand the difference between Character Change and Character Transform?" Shiro asked.

"Yep," I said "Hey, maybe your Character Change could help me with this decorating."

"Well, a Character Change can either change your personality or physical state," said Shiro "It could get dramatic."

"Fine," I said "But if I need help, you still have to step in."

"Of course," said Shiro, as we entered the gym, she said "Okay, even though no one can see me, we shouldn't talk aloud to each other, it would complicate things."

I nodded and looked out to the crew in front of me, several assistants and students volunteered to put up the decorations.

"Great to see everybody here," I said "Now lets start with this wall over here…"

* * *

"Mitsuki, we're out of the gold ribbon," I heard.

"Oh! I have some at my house!" I said "I'll hop on my bike and go get it, you guys can take a break while I'm gone."

I opened the door that led to the sports fields outside, I walked around those to get to the parking lot where I parked my bike.

Shiro rested in the basket.

I decided to take the road way instead of the forest.

Big mistake.

A little girl ended up shooting past me and making me fall off the bike.

She didn't even stop!

"You okay?" asked Shiro, who fell out the basket.

"Yeah," I said. I then looked back "What's her prob- What the-?"

She went into the construction sight!

I ran after her.

"Hey! Mitsuki!" I heard Shiro call, but I ignored her.

I then saw the girl fall straight into a ditch.

I gasped as I stopped in my tracks.

"What's wrong?" Shiro questioned, just now getting here.

"I think that little girl just fell in that ditch…!" I gasped.

"What?"

Just then, the girl shot out of the ditch.

"Okay, now I'm confused," I said as I watched her float throughout the air.

"Wait! She's Character Changing," said Shiro "Look!"

I squinted to see a small Guardian Character beside the girl, the two seemed to be arguing.

"She must be new at this too," I said.

I watched as the girl slowly floated onto the steel skeleton of an unfinished building. I was still a little frazzled from this whole scene, so I wanted to stick around and make sure she gets out of here safely.

Just then, someone else steps into the scene. It didn't see his face but he was dressed in our school uniform and had blue hair, and….a tail and cat ears?

He walked up to the girl and took something from her. Two eggs?

She didn't do anything at first, but then she charged at the boy and fell!

I ran under her to catch her, but she never hit the ground.

She transformed halfway through her descent.

What! Transform?

She was now flying through the air in a cheerleader outfit.

"Character Transform..." I stated.

Shiro nodded.

At that moment, everything froze, as if we were all watching in awe as the girl flew gracefully in her new form.

All of a sudden, she returned back to her pedestrian form and continued to fall.

I didn't notice the little blonde boy with a crown that ran up to me and tried to catch the girl.

The both of us were able to catch her. While I let her down, the boy pulled out what seemed to be a scepter.

"Eh?"

"Holy Crown!" he called out as a large gold mass surrounded the area.

Okay, I've officially seen everything.

I couldn't see what happened since I had to shield my eyes from the brightness.

"He got away," the blonde boy said, obviously disappointed "Are you okay?" he asked the girl.

The girl blushed and said "I'm fine."

"Are you two Guardians?" I asked, seeing as how they didn't notice me.

"Yes," said the boy, the girl nodded.

"Oh boy…." I said "The world of Guardians sure gets dangerous."

"I'll say," said the girl.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay," said the boy.

The girl blushed even more "Th-thanks."

"Lets get back to the school," said the boy as the two began to walk away.

"Cute couple," I said.

"Oh, Mitsuki! We still have to go get those gold ribbons," said Shiro.

"Oh right!" I said.

* * *

"Sorry it took so long, I got held up," I announced as I entered the gym.

"No problem Mitsuki," said one of the students.

As they finished up, I couldn't help but talk to Shiro.

"That boy who tried to take the girl's egg," I whispered "He was wearing our school uniform."

"Yes," she said.

"Lets hope he wasn't taking those eggs for the wrong reason," I whispered "Because that would mean I'd be attending the same school as an enemy and put you in danger."

"Guardian Characters are tricky with our small stature and powers," said Shiro "But Guardians are more likely to be targeted, so _you_ need to be careful."

I grew more and more aware of where my life was now.

What did I sign up for...


	2. Chapter 2

I'm a Guardian. I wield a Guardian Character, who represents my desires and wishes. Her purpose is to watch over me and help achieve my desire. Somewhat like a guardian angel, right? So tell me this….

"Why do you guys have the ability to transform us?" I asked "Character Change and Transformation, both seem pretty unnecessary and outlandish when it comes to achieving an everyday goal such as gaining your dream career. Then again, transforming into an actual artist could be fun."

Shiro seemed to become uneasy when I asked her this, she didn't speak at first.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Sorry, I've got a bit of a headache," she said.

"Wow, Guardian Characters have body functions just like humans," I said, keeping my tone down to avoid hurting her head even more.

She nodded.

The whole time we were talking, I was in the mirror, getting ready for school. I had just finished brushing out the last kink in my hair while holding the hair clip in my mouth. It was the fancy kind of hair pin that locks in when you twist it around, it was perfect because it was blue, the same color as my hair.

* * *

When I got to the school, my usual "fan club" huddled around me, giving me big bear hugs. Which always made me feel good since I love hugs.

"The gym looks beautiful!" "You did an amazing job!" "We love you!"

"Thanks guys!" I said.

"Hey," said a familiar voice. I looked up to see Yumiko adjusting her glasses with an annoyed look "You all just left me standing there."

"Sorry Yumiko, we just wanted to give Mitsuki some credit," said one of the girls.

"For what?" asked Yumiko.

"Remember? I decorated the gym for the all the music classes yesterday," I said "They're having an after school party somewhere around this week."

"Oh yeah, that," she said "Well it's nothing to flaunt around like a parade. I mean, you weren't even the one who _put up_ the decorations. A bunch of people did it for you."

I sighed.

"So really, the credit goes to them, not you," she said.

"She's kinda right," said one of the girls.

"What?" I said.

"She _is_ right," said another one of the girls "Although you drew the design for the gym, you didn't actually decorate it."

"Exactly," said Yumiko "And anyone can draw a picture."

"That's not true!" I protested "If anyone could draw a design, they wouldn't have specifically chosen me."

"Hm, that's a pretty prideful statement from an 'anyone' like yourself," said Yumiko.

Did she really just say that? I had an undetermined comeback brewing inside me, but it got caught in my throat.

"Come on ladies, the bell's about to ring," said Yumiko as she turned to walk away.

* * *

You now how I said those girls were my usual "fan club"? Well I forgot to mention that I have to share them. They were originally Yumiko's "fan club" before I came to the school. After that, we've pretty much had joint-custody over them, but Yumiko wants full custody. But I'm not gonna think about that now, I'm in my favorite class. Art~!

"How's my star pupil?" greeted the teacher.

"Fantastic!" I said "Did you see my work in the gym?"

"Sure did," she said as she placed some paints on a counter "Brilliant as always."

"Thanks," I said.

"Alright class," she said, now speaking to the entire class "Continue your work from yesterday."

We were supposed to draw a nature scene, but because I love snacks and candy so much, I ended up making the picture like some type of surreal candy land. Fluffy cotton candy clouds, rough chocolate dirt patches, pretzel rooted tree bark. The works. But I had one problem: what snack would I use for grass and leaves?

I leaned over to the side to a girl I didn't know "Hey, what kind of candy or snack does grass look like the most?"

She gave me a funny look "What kind of question is that?"

"I'm drawing my nature scene like a candy land, see?" I said as I shifted the easel over.

"Whoa! That's awesome!" she gasped.

"Thanks," I said, but then I noticed she looked solemnly down at her own painting, which was just a child-like drawing of the sun and a rainbow.

"I can't think of a snack or candy that has that thin, wispy texture that grass does," she said "I wish I had that much creativity…."

"I'm sure you do," I said "Maybe this one project just isn't made for you. I've encountered a lot of projects where I found myself stuck."

"It's not just this one, it's every project I've ever faced, I'm just not good in art," she said.

"Well art never comes easy, it's really in-depth and forces you to think outside the box, but it's fun nonetheless," I said "And even if art's not for you, it doesn't mean you should stop doing it."

"Yeah…" she said, as if she'd heard it a million times.

* * *

"You've been pretty quiet, Shiro," I said during lunch.

"I told you, I have a headache," she said.

"Still?" I said "I wish I could give you something. But your small body can't take a human-size dosage of medicine."

She nodded.

I filled my water bottle cap with water and gave it to her "Here, drink some water, it helps," I also gave her a piece of my fruit "Some food could help too."

"Thanks," she said as she sipped the water.

I chewed my sushi piece, it was a sweet type, just the way I like it. I try my best not to be the classic Japanese stereotype and pig out on sushi all day, but come on, it's delicious!

I swallowed and said "I wonder what snack I could use as grass…"

"Seaweed, maybe," said a voice.

I looked over and saw Ikuto who was tying his shoe beside me.

Was he there the whole time?

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked as he got up.

"N-not at all," I said sheepishly. When he sat down I remembered what he just said "Wait, seaweed as grass?"

"Yeah," he said "The seaweed from sushi, like the kind you're eating right now."

"Oh I get it," I said "But wait, seaweed's not a snack."

"Well it's an ingredient to sushi, which can be a snack," he said.

"Eh…."

"So why do you need to know what type of snack looks the most like grass?" he asked.

"I'm painting a nature scene in art, and I'm using candy and snacks as the parts of nature," I said.

He smiled "A type of candy land, huh? That's cool."

"_He thinks my idea is cool,_" I thought.

"Well in that case, then you should use mint leaves, not seaweed," he said.

"Good idea!" I said. I pulled a pen out and wrote it on my napkin.

"You could also have peppermint stones," he said.

I wrote that down too "I was just thinking that," I said "Say, do you take art class?"

"No," he said "I take music, I play the violin."

"That's great, you guys get to have that after school party this week," I said.

"Speaking of which," he said "I saw the gym this morning, you did a great job."

I could jump over the moon right now "Thanks…"

Just then, the girl from art sat across the table from us "Hey Mitsuki, you mind if I sit here?"

"No it's fine," I said.

"Thanks," she said "I'm Tsugumi, by the way."

"Uh, nice to meet you Tsugumi," I said, awkwardly. I felt like her arrival kinda bumped Ikuto out of the conversation.

"Hi, I'm Yoru," said the tiny cat-boy from yesterday, he was speaking to Shiro.

Shiro gave him an annoyed look "Hi there."

I was shocked for minute. But standing beside Shiro, I realized that he was a Guardian Character too.

But who's?

"You okay Mitsuki?" asked Tsugumi.

I looked up "Oh, fine. Just a little…uh..."

Next thing I knew Ikuto was standing up holding something in his hand "I'll be right back," he left before I could say anything. I also noticed that Guardian Character was gone too.

"What's wrong with that emo guy?" asked Tsugumi.

Oh Tsugumi.

* * *

Phew!

That was one rough math test. It wasn't that I didn't understand the subject, it just took a lot of effort. But I got it done!

"Uh, Tsugumi, could I see you after class?" I heard the teacher whisper.

That's when I tuned out and tried to think about something else, I don't like getting in other people's business. But then my focus was directed at Shiro, who had been exhausted from her headache all day. But right now, she seemed to be pretty alert. I cleared my throat to gain her attention, she didn't budge. I tapped her back with my pinky finger, but she just shooed me away. I hunched over a little to look in the direction she was. She was looking at Tsugumi.

"Are you looking at that girl?" I asked quietly.

"No," said Shiro "Her egg."'

"She's a Guardian?" I questioned.

"No, but I can 'see' her egg within her," Shiro said "And the only reason I can is because it's in danger."

"How?" I asked.

"She-" Shiro stopped herself.

"She what?"

"I-I don't know," she said "All I know is that there's nothing we can do about it."

"Okay…" I said. "_Where did that come from?_"

* * *

Right now it was break-time and mostly everyone had huddled into one specific hallway. I had abandoned them to use the ladies room. When I walked out of the washroom and into the hall, I was slightly surprised to see there was not a single soul around. "_Yumiko must be doing something interesting,_" I thought "_Or just spreading a rumor._"

"This can't be!" I heard a voice say in the distance. I ignored it and kept walking away.

"Feeling any better, Shiro?" I asked, I didn't hear a reply "Shiro?" still no reply "Shiro?"

I looked to my side and saw something from the corner of my eye. I turned around and saw Shiro flying in the opposite direction.

"Shiro!" I hissed. She kept going.

"_What is with her today?_" I thought. I walked after her, knowing I would quickly catch up to her. And I did.

"Alright, get back here," I said as I reached up to grab her. She darted away. I reached again and she darted away. I tried to snatch her this time and she still darted away. I jumped to get her and she avoided me, leaving me to almost fall.

"Shiro would you stop!" I hissed "You've been acting weird all day and not giving me any type of an explanation. How long are you gonna-" just then, the door beside me burst open and whoever opened it, ran me over.

I struggled to get up for a long time, "Wh-what was that…?" I looked around and realized that not only had the person left without stopping or coming back, but Shiro had gone too.

* * *

I've been running around this school for God knows how long. Where is Shiro? The only place I haven't checked is the roof, which is exactly where I'm going.

I slammed the door open "Shiro!" I called out. Finally I caught sight of her "Shiro, what's the matte-"

She was staring at a girl, who was leaning on the balcony.

"Tsugumi?" I said aloud.

All of a sudden, she fell limp. I blinked a few times in surprise. But little did I know there was another surprise coming my way. An egg flew from her, it rose to the sky as it blackened. "What's happening?" I asked myself.

Shiro.

She knows something about this. I know she does. "What's happening Shiro?" I asked, sternly. She didn't say anything, or even move. I stepped forward "What's happening?" I asked again. She didn't even turn to look at me "Shiro, I know you know something about-"

"Impossible~" I heard in a creepy, taunting voice.

I looked up and saw the egg had hatched into a black miniature figure with a large "X" on the forehead. I then watched as hundreds, no, thousands of thin spikes formed in the air.

Uh-oh.

"Mitsuki, run!" Shiro yelled.

I was way ahead of her, I took shelter behind a crate as I watched the spikes fly in multiple directions at bullet speed. Shiro quickly came to my side. "What's happening!" I asked.

"I don't know!" said Shiro.

After a few minutes of waiting, I realized this wasn't going to stop. "We've got to get back inside," I said "We can't stay here all day." I held Shiro tightly in my hands watched the pattern of the spikes. If I timed it right, I would have enough space to run to the door.

Steady….steady….NOW!

I ran, but in my hurry I tripped. A spike then hooked into my sleeve and pinned me to the edge of the balcony. Due to the momentum, I ended up swinging over the edge of the roof, being suspended by that one spike.

"Oh…Oh…Oh my god…! Ohhh my god…" I gasped, trembling.

"It's okay, Mitsuki, just calm down, we'll get out of this," Shiro said.

"I can't calm down!" I whined, shutting my eyes.

Suddenly, I felt the spike shift above my weight, I lowered a little and gave a faint squeal.

"Don't get scared, Mitsuki," Shiro said.

I only trembled more, which caused the spike to shift even more "Ah! No!"

Finally the spike gave way, I screamed as I descended. But I never fell more than two feet, because I when heard Shiro call out "Character Transform!" everything turned white, my clothes dissolved into thin air and new ones appeared in the same matter.

"Character Transform: Ivory Dove!"

"Ivory…Dove?" I said as the white faded away.

Was I flying?

I was, thanks to two small angel wings on my back that beat like humming bird wings. Wait, I was in a whole new outfit too! "Shiro?" I said.

"I'm sorry, Mitsuki," I heard her say.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"I'm in you," she said "When you transform, our bodies merge into one."

"_You_ did this?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm so sorry, I didn't want this to happen," she said.

"Sorry? You must be joking!" I said "This is amazing! Look at me I'm flying!" I then tried to fly in a specific direction. I don't know how I did it, it was like walking, it just came naturally. I flew high into the air, watching as the ground beneath me grew smaller. Shiro was saying something, but I was giggling with giddy too much to hear her.

But then, a spike shot my way and I tumbled a little in the air trying to dodge it.

"Mitsuki, use this," I heard Shiro say. All of a sudden, an Asian fan with miscellaneous writing all over it appeared before me. I grabbed it "What is it? How do I use it?"

"Call out Writer's Block, it'll block the spikes," she explained.

I blew the fan "Writer's Block," and sure enough, a transparent white shield appeared and blocked all the spikes. The fan then turned into rainbow colors "Huh?"

"Now call out Pastel Party," Shiro commanded.

"Pastel Party!" I said, getting excited. A powerful wave of colors phased through the barrier and encased the black figure. I watched through the barrier as the colors morphed smoothly and finally burst into a gentle cloud of sparkles. The figure was gone! And the spikes disappeared as well.

In my proud success, I flew back to the roof "This is what Character Transformation does? I get super powers? This is amazing!"

"Mitsuki, I don't think you realize what this means," Shiro said "You get these powers because you become a Mahou Shojo."

"What?" I said.

"You see, having a Guardian Character turns you into one," she explained "When your Guardian Character is born, you're automatically signed into a contract, so to speak. In exchange for us helping you achieve your goal, you exterminate X-eggs and X-characters for us."

"Shiro…." I can't believe this "You can't be serious…"

"Being a Guardian is both a curse and a blessing," she finally said.

* * *

*Ivory Dove's outfit: white hair(still in a ponytail), blue vest, blue wrist-to-elbow sleeves, white pleated skirt, white thigh high socks, and blue sneakers


	3. Chapter 3

I returned to my pedestrian form, resulting in Shiro and I separating.

"You tricked me," I said.

"This isn't my choice!" Shiro begged "If I had the decision I would never have let you give birth to a Guardian Character."

"So that's why you wouldn't talk to me all day," I said "You didn't want to have to face me asking about the transformations."

"Mitsuki…" I heard Tsugumi say.

That's when I realized she was still laying on the ground.

* * *

"So tell me what happened before you passed out," I told Tsugumi.

"The teacher and I were arguing over my grades again, she told me I needed a tutor," explained Tsugumi "I got mad and ran out of the classroom and up to the roof. I just stood there feeling sorry for myself."

I suddenly felt bad for her and came to a realization: when she had self-doubt and pity, her egg became an X-egg. So that must mean the existence of her egg was fueled by her confidence. And when her confidence ran out-

"But y'know what?" she said, interrupting my thoughts "I don't feel bad anymore. I don't even know what I was so worried about. I mean, it's just a tutor! It's not like people don't get them."

"_What the mess?_" I thought, confused by her sudden change of attitude.

"I'm sure if I just get some help and work harder, I'll be fine," she said "Y'know, maybe I passed out from the stress. But I feel so much better now."

"That's great to hear," I said, getting up "Well classes are about to end so I'm gonna head back. Later!"

"Bye!"

* * *

"Okay, I figured out how X-eggs work," I told Shiro as we walked home "X-eggs are the result of a Guardian Character who's owner has lost all confidence in their goal."

Shiro looked shocked "Wow! You catch on quick!"

"But when I cleansed the egg, Tsugumi gained all her confidence back," I said.

Then Shiro stopped in her tracks "You're right…." she gasped "But normal Guardians can't do that."

"What?" I said, somewhat scared.

"Only one Guardian can do that and thats the one who possesses either the Humpty Key or Dumpty Lock," said Shiro.

"Are those, like, the talismans of the Guardian Character world?" I asked.

"Yes, the Lock is for girls and the Key is for boys. There are only one of each in the world and the only way you could possibly have it's power without actually _owning_ the object is if…" she paused and said "Mitsuki, open your shirt!"

"What!"

"Just do it!" she ordered.

I undid the sailor tie and buttons and opened up my shirt. Shiro gasped.

I looked down and saw an intricate design on my chest. It looked like four clovers formed into a square and around that square was a padlock shape.

"Shiro…" I said "What is this?"

"It's the mark of the Humpty Lock," she said "It means someone else is holding the Humpty Lock, but it belongs to the _both_ of you."

"But who could be holding it?" I asked.

"It could be anyone, anywhere in the world," Shiro said "We may never find her."

* * *

When I went home, I couldn't help but study myself for more marks. I took off all my clothes, locked the door, closed the blinds, and stood in front of the full-body mirror.

"Mitsuki, I can't find any other marks," Shiro complained.

"I just wanna be sure," I said as I twisted around "Check around me again."

Shiro sighed but obeyed anyway.

"I can't believe I never noticed this," I said "When did the mark even come?"

"Most likely after you transformed," Shiro said.

I traced my fingers along the clovers on the mark "Why are there clovers?"

"They're hearts, but arranged this way they look like clovers," Shiro explained.

"Open my Heart," I said and just like that, one of the hearts turned white. I gasped.

Shiro flew up to take a look.

"What happened!" she asked.

"Shouldn't I be asking you?" I squealed.

Just then I heard my mother "Mitsuki? Are you on the phone?"

"Yeah!" I said with a little too much energy "I'll be out in a minute."

"Oh no, I just wanted to check on you," reassured Mom.

"Oh okay," I said as I began to get dressed.

I waited until I heard Mom go down the hall and down the stairs before I began to speak again. "Why are the talismans in the form of a Lock and Key?"

"It has two meanings really," Shiro said "It derives from the phrase 'Unlock my Heart' which means to release your inner self. But the key can only belong to a boy and the lock can only belong to a girl and since the lock and key have been around since the dawn of time, most people think they represent the very first man and woman."

"Wow," was all I could say "Now I'm wondering what boy holds the mark of the Dumpty Key."

Or better yet, the Dumpty Key itself.

* * *

That morning, I woke up from a pretty steamy dream about Keys and Locks. I pray to god Shiro didn't see me thrashing around or making faces.

Unfortunately, when I turned around I saw Shiro was sitting on my nightstand with a scared look on her face.

"I was having a nightmare," I quickly said.

"No one moans like that when they're having a nightmare," said Shiro.

"What do you expect? I'm a teenage girl with feelings!" I defended "And besides, it's your fault for planting the idea of Locks and Keys in my head yesterday."

"You're the one putting sexual innuendos in it!" Shiro said "I never said it had anything to do with _that!_"

"Whatever," I said as I lifted the blankets.

Shiro gasped.

I looked down and saw a bright pink egg with a bunny design on it sitting in front of me. I picked it up "Another one?"

"This is so rare!" Shiro said "To have more than one egg is one thing, but to have two born within such a short time frame?"

I waited a little while "It's not hatching," I said.

"You haven't discovered your desire yet," Shiro said "But the fact that the egg was born anyway means you came pretty close."

"But I was asleep," I said.

"Then you must have been dreaming about something that comes close to what you desire," Shiro said.

We both shared an awkward pause as we came to a realization of what kind of Guardian Character could be born.

* * *

I kept the eggs in a pouch on my way to school. I felt like it was the "Ride of Shame" because I couldn't stop thinking about that one egg.

"_That's what my desire is?_" I thought "_This is just sad. A new all-time low for me._"

I was growing more aware of the man further down the dirt road. He was just standing there doing nothing but smoking a cigarette. Something about him was off, despite the fact that it seemed like he didn't even notice I was coming his way.

Just as I was about to pass him by, he pulled out a gun on me!

I extended my foot and swerved to a stop.

"Get off the bike," he said.

I slowly got off the bike.

"Now hand it over," he said.

"I don't have any money," I said.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about," he said.

I knew acting like a confused damsel in distress would only make the situation worse, so I kept my cool and said "I don't know. Please explain."

"The Embryo," he said "I know you have it."

"I don't even know what that is," I said "Or better yet, who you are."

"Don't worry about who I am," he said "Just hand over the Embryo."

"I've told you already, sir," I said "I don't even know what that is let alone where it could be."

"Don't waste my time, chick," he said.

"You're the one wasting time with me," I said, getting irritated "Instead of asking me about something I don't know about, you should find someone who does."

"You think I'm joking don't you?" he said "Give me the Embryo."

"Search me," I blurted out "You won't find anything."

It wasn't until he walked towards me that I realized I _didn't_ want a grown man to search me. But it was either feel violated or get shot.

My choice.

To my surprise, the first thing he did was take my pouch and pull out my eggs.

He gave me a look "You know exactly what the Embryo is."

"I don't," I said sternly "What makes you think I do?"

He pushed the eggs in my face "You're a Guardian," he said "Every Guardian knows what the Embryo is."

"I just became one the other day, so I really don't know much," I said.

"Bullshit," he said.

"There are Guardians worldwide," I said "What makes you so sure that I'm the one who owns this so-called 'Embryo'?"

"Because you're one of the owners of the Humpty Lock," he said.

"Look sir," I said "Whether you believe me or not, I barely know anything about all these talismans and terminologies. And I'll be honest, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Well if you're as ignorant as you say you are, then I guess taking these eggs away from you won't mean a thing," he said, putting the eggs back in the pouch.

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait a minute!" I said outstretching my arm in protest "You don't have to do that!"

"Then give me the Embryo," he said.

I breathed a very heavy sigh in annoyance "We're going in circles," I said "Since it means so much to you, how about I help you find the Embryo?"

He seemed pretty surprised by my response.

"_You and me both_," I thought.

"I'm not exactly confident about this either," I said "Especially since you pulled a gun out at me and threatened to take my eggs."

He now looked a little defeated.

"But we can't stand around arguing all morning, I've got to get to school," I said, meaning every word of it.

He laughed a little "You're alright, chick," he said tossing the eggs to me "But I'm afraid my work ethic wouldn't allow help from outsiders."

"What does that mean?" I asked, purely confused.

"Don't worry about it," he said as he began to walk away.

"_Just ignore it, Mitsuki, just ignore it_," I thought as I got my bike.

* * *

I won't lie, it was pretty hard to focus in class.

Okay, _very_ hard to focus in class.

Day 3 of being a Guardian and this is what happens.

"Hey there~!" said a voice.

I looked down to see it was the little cat Guardian Character.

It was PE class and right now I was taking a break, so I was free to speak to him.

"You!" I said out of reflex.

"How ya doing, nyan?" he asked.

"Okay, who are you?" I asked.

"I can't tell you, nyan," he said.

"Can you at least give me your name?" I requested.

Hmmm," he thought about it "Maybe…"

"Well my name's Mitsuki," I said.

"Yeah I know, nyan," he said.

"_Why does he keep following me?_" I thought "_Unless…_"

"You're, you're not _my_ Character are you?" I asked.

He smirked "Maybe~"

"_Not another one_," I thought "_And I can tell this one is a handful! Wait a second…_"

"You can't be mine, you're a boy," I said.

"You got me, nyan!" he said.

"Well who is you're Guardian then?" I asked "Whoever it is obviously can't keep up with you."

"I'm not tellin', nyan," he said "But I'll admit, he has good taste in women."

"What, he's got a girlfriend?" I scoffed, not really caring.

"No, but he thinks you're hot," he said.

"Eh?" I shot my head at him "Who? Who thinks I'm hot?"

"I'm not tellin'~! Nyan~!"

* * *

**Just so you know, Yoru doesn't say 'nyan' after very short sentences on purpose. He also doesn't say 'nyan' if he's really serious.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Can you stop following me please?" I asked in a snarky tone.

"I don' wanna, nyan."

This Yoru is starting to bug me, it used to be cute, but cuteness only goes so far.

Right now we were at lunch and Shiro and I were trying to enjoy our food, but Yoru was getting in the way.

"Boy, you sure eat healthy, nyan," he said "So much fruit and hardly any snacks."

I shrugged "I like fruit."

"If you eat so much healthy stuff, how come you're not skinny? Nyan," he asked.

This made me look down at him "Excuse me?"

"What? All I said was you're not skinny, you act like I was insulting you, nyan," he said.

I put down the spoon "Because I feel like you're suggesting that I'm fat."

"It _did_ sound like you were hinting that," said Shiro, raising her eyebrow.

"You're not fat, nyan!" he defended "But you're not skinny either."

I smiled "Oh I see what you're saying now, I'm in between, average size."

"Curvy is more of what I meant, nyan," said Yoru "Since thats how a certain someone describes you, nyan."

"Who's this certain someone?" I asked.

"I'm not tellin', nyan."

It's been like this all day, Yoru would refer to someone and when I asked who it was, he shut his mouth. Whether he was referring to different people each time or the same person every time, I could tell this guy or girl admires me but denies it.

"Okay Yoru, the entire second year class is in this cafeteria," I said "Tell me, which one is your Guardian so you can stop bugging me."

"I'm. Not. Telling. Nyan," he stuck out his tongue.

I sighed and slumped in my chair.

This is hopeless.

"Ooooh!" I heard Yoru say.

I lifted my head and saw he found the pink egg.

"Hey, don't touch that!" Shiro and I commanded.

"Chill out you guys, nyan," he said "What do you think I'm gonna do? Break it?"

"Yes," I hissed.

"You can't break an egg unless it's _really_ weak and you're _really_ strong, nyan," he said, trying to climb on top of it.

I snatched it from beneath him "I still don't want your paws all over it," I meant that literally considering Yoru had paw-gloves on his tiny hands.

"Cell phones aren't allowed here," I heard Yumiko say.

I glanced up at her confused "What do you mean?"

"Am I mistaken? I saw you talking aloud but no one was here, so I assumed you had a phone on speaker with you," she explained "If you want to get any type of respect around here, don't break the rules."

"But I don't have a cell phone," I said.

"Oh? Then why were you talking aloud to yourself?" she pressed.

I was getting annoyed "Why are you making it any of your business?" From the corner of my eye, I could see the pink egg shaking.

"Excuse me? I'm just trying to help you out," said Yumiko, taken aback.

"I don't think snooping around trying to find ways to get me in trouble is 'helping'," I said "I don't have a cell phone and whether or not you _thought_ you saw me talking aloud is really nothing to debate over."

Even though I was looking straight at Yumiko's disgusted face, I could still see the pink egg shaking like crazy from the corner of my eye.

While Yumiko ranted about how 'disrespectful' I was being, I packed up my things and said "Hate to interrupt, but I've gotta go," and left without a word.

* * *

I breathed a heavy sigh.

I was on the roof top right now, trying to clear my head.

"Are you alright?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah, just, just trying to clear my head," I said "I've never snapped like that before, it kinda makes me feel nervous," then I glanced at Shiro "But certainly not guilty, Yumiko had it coming."

"I agree," said Shiro "She seems so uptight and nosy when it comes to you."

I was holding my egg, which was still vibrating in my palm.

"Huh," I said "We left Yoru."

"Good," said Shiro.

I laughed a little, then my attention went back to the pink egg "Why is it shaking?"

"It must be close to hatching, you must've done something to realize your goal again," explained Shiro.

A hot dream and telling off a bully are two things that made the egg almost hatch. But how do the two correlate?

Both are definitely out of character for me, I would never be so…_daring_ and adventurous.

Just as I thought that, the egg bounced out of my hand and over the roof.

I yelped as I watched it travel of the campus.

"Quick, use character change for speed!" said Shiro.

I've never used it before, but now's a heck of a time to use it "Character Change: Shiro!" an angel pin appeared on my tie and slowly gained a sense of weightlessness. I jumped off of the roof and used that weightlessness to accelerate my running.

Weird, it sounded like someone had called my name before I took off.

* * *

I followed the egg into an Seiyo Elementary. School had been dismissed by the time I got there apparently, since the halls were totally empty. The only signs of life was this one room where I heard two girls taking about cooking.

Then I saw my egg zoom down another hallway "There it is!" I only ran about two steps when Yumiko jumped out of a corner "Not so fast, Mitsuki!"

"Yumiko!" she scared the mess out of me "What're you doing here?"

"When I saw you didn't come back to class, I went to the roof since I knew thats where a misfit like yourself would be," she explained "But as soon as I went up there, you jumped off the ledge and ran off," she smirked at this.

I can't believe her! "Look, Yumiko, this is an emergency," I said, trying to get past her.

"An emergency worth ditching school over?" she said "Wait till the teacher hears this."

"Bitch, there was only half an hour left anyway," I said like it was nothing.

Yumiko's mouth dropped "Did you just call me a bitch?"

Behind her, I saw my egg stopped in it tracks. But right now, I was too shocked at my own actions. But I refused to turn back, I was on a roll right now.

Putting my hands on my hips, I said "I call 'em like I see 'em."

The egg was drawing closer and closer to us.

Yumiko stammered and stuttered for a comeback "You're the bitch!"

"Nuh-uh! Nope, nope, nope. I already used that insult, you gotta make up your own," I said, having the time of my life.

She threw up her hands "You're insane!" she pushed me away "I'm out of here!"

"And don't come back!" I called after her. Thats when I heard a pop followed by a "Hey girl~!"

I looked back to see my pink egg had hatched. A blonde girl in a magenta cocktail dress and bunny ears was born "I'm Usagi!"

I was loving her attitude.

Shiro shook her hand "Welcome sis!"

Just then, a commotion in the distance interrupted our friendly meet and greet. It came from the room where I heard the two girls talking about cooking. It wasn't that loud or sounded bad, it was short too.

The three of us watched as a figure exited the room. It was too far to see who it was, but it was obviously a tall guy dressed in black.

"What happened?" Shiro asked.

I shrugged "Probably just a little argument. It's none of our business."

* * *

"You have got a lot of explaining to do," I told Usagi "First of all, what do you represent?"

"Your desire to be more courageous and make a bold statement," said Usagi "When you stood up to Yumiko for the first time, I was born."

"But why did your egg appear when Mitsuki was having that sex dream?"

I cringed at the fact that Shiro said that so bluntly.

"Don't look at the action, look at the deeper meaning behind it," explained Shiro "She wasn't just making love, she was expressing it fearlessly and shamelessly. Thats a form of courage."

"Oh, I get it," I said. I was relieved knowing I wasn't just a simple pervert.

We were at home, sitting on my bed.

"Say, why did you lead us to the elementary school?" asked Shiro.

"I felt a familiar presence there," said Usagi "I'm not sure exactly what it was. It could have been a person or a thing…"

My mind set on the theory of 'thing', then it hit me.

"The Dumpty Key," I blurted out "Maybe you sensed it."

"Oh yeah, you're one of the holders of the Humpty Lock," said Usagi "Is it the real thing or the mark?"

"The mark," said Shiro.

"Anyway, what if you sensed the key-"

"Or the mark."

"….or the mark," I said, rolling my eyes at Shiro's correction "Maybe you sensed one of them at the school."

"But the place was deserted," said Usagi.

"You never know, maybe someone was there but they didn't catch our attention," said Shiro.

My mind flickered to the guy in black "What if the guy who left the class was one of the owners of the Dumpty Key?"

"Him?" "Possibly."

"Now, how do we find him?" I said.

"Mitsuki, anyone could be the owner of the lock and key, why are you acting as though finding him will mean finding your soulmate?" Shiro asked.

To be truthful, I'm not sure why I was taking such a deep interest either.

"She's kinda right, girl," said Usagi "And thats probably a good thing. What if you didn't like the guy who owned the key?"

"And what if I did?"

This question put everyone to silence.

* * *

Late that night, I sat out on my backyard patio.

I couldn't sleep, there was so much on my mind: Shiro, Usagi, Yoru, the Embryo, the Humpty Lock, the Dumpty Key, being a Mahou Shojo, X-eggs, X-characters. Right now, everyday issues like Ikuto and Yumiko seemed minute.

Just then, the bushes rustled and out emerged the man I met on the way to school.

"What the…" despite not being able to sleep, I was still sleepy, so my senses weren't too on-point as they usually would.

"Don't panic, chick," he said as he walked up to me "I got fired from my job," he said as he leaned against the railing.

"Which would be…?"

"Don't worry about it."

I was getting tired of him saying that "So what'd you come here for?"

"I was roaming around the neighborhood and I saw you come out here," he said "What're you doing out here so late anyway? Don't you still have school?"

"I can't sleep," I said before I yawned softly.

"You look sleepy," he said.

"I am, but I've got too much on my mind to fall asleep," I said, then I realized something "Ah, oh, tomorrow's the weekend…" I yawned softly again.

"You yawn weird," said the man.

"How?" I asked, letting my eyes close.

"Because it sounds like a puppy yawning."

I smiled, but kept my eyes closed "You're weird for thinking that."

"I know," he said, I could hear in his voice that he was smiling "Zekyl," he said.

"What?"

"That's my name," he said "Zekyl."

I yawned again "What is that, English?"

"Yeah," he said "What's your name?"

"Mitsuki…." I said as I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

I woke up the next morning clinging to the railing of the patio. The sunrise had woken me up with its beautiful rays of crimson and gold.

"I'd better get inside before Mom freaks," I said. Poor thing probably thought I was out all night, since I never go into the backyard.

As soon as I walked into the kitchen, Mom kissed me on the forehead "Bye honey!"

Oh yeah, she's going to to work this morning. She must have thought I had already woken up and was down here this whole time.

"Bye love you!"

When she left, I went upstairs to my room. My back was hurting due to the angle I was sleeping and I couldn't wait to get back in my own bed.

When I opened the door, Shiro and Usagi flew right out.

"Thank god you're here!"

"He won't leave!"

"Who?" I questioned.

I looked in the room and saw a guy in my bed.

Wait a second...Zekyl!

I stomped over to the bed and hit him "Dude!"

"Ow!" he sat up and glared at me "What was that for?"

"What are you doing in my bed?" I snapped "Had my mom seen you, she would've thought I was harboring boyfriends."

"Calm down, chick! It's not that big a deal!" he said "I was just sleeping."

"What makes you think you can just walk into someone's house and sleep in their bed like it's some hotel?" I said "Y'know what? Not even a hotel, 'cause hotels check you in and charge you."

"Look, I need a place to crash since I got fired," he said.

"Well- you could've, I mean-" I wasn't sure how to answer him, I ended up saying "You can't stay here."

"So you're just gonna throw me out on the streets like that?" he said.

"You're a grown man, you can get an apartment," I said.

"It's not that simple, chick," he said.

"Why not?" I pressed.

"It's a long story," he said.

"I can wait," I insisted.

"Even if you can, it's none of your business," he said.

I sighed, exhausted from this argument "You can stay." was all I could say.

***Teehee, the last line rhymed.**


	5. Chapter 5

**By the way, most of the Guardian Characters in Shugo Chara! have higher pitched voices. Mitsuki's Characters sound like ordinary girls but they're voices are more like Karin Maaka/Usagi Tsukino/Ichigo Momomiya y'know what I mean?**

"Okay, I live only with one person and that is my mother," I stated "So keeping you in hiding shouldn't be much of a problem."

"Good," said Xander.

"But here's the issue, I'm a 16 year old girl," I said "And I can't just come up to my mother and say 'hey, my adult male friend here needs a place to stay' y'know what I mean?"

"Yeah," he said.

"So you're gonna have to go into hiding," I said "I recommend the basement since my mother hates going down there."

I turned to Shiro and Usagi and asked "Which one of you is willing to check on him?"

Both went silent.

"Okay, I pick Shiro."

Shiro frowned and Usagi jumped around going "Aw celebrate!" then stopped when she caught a glimpse at Xander's quizzical face.

* * *

"You guys really don't like Xander do you?" I said as soon as he got acquainted in his new room.

"Not really." "Nope."

"I know he's kinda annoying like an older brother," I said as we went back to my room.

"It's not that, it's how the way he came into your room last night that made an uncomfortable first impression," said Shiro.

"How did he come in?" I asked, sitting on the bed.

"Of course, we were put off by the fact that a strange dude was coming into your room and sleeping in your bed."

"Well yeah, I'd be put off too," I said "But that's just one stupid incident. There's no way you can judge him from just that."

* * *

For the rest of the day, I went about my normal business: extra studying, watching TV, internet, music, drawing, writing. It was almost noon and I was starting to get hungry, and most likely, Xander was feeling the same.

I grabbed two water bottles and two apples and went down to the basement "Hey!" I said to get his attention.

Xander, sitting on the mattress, turned around.

"Think fast~!" I said as I tossed the apple and water bottle to him. It sailed across the room and bounced right beside him on the mattress. Before he could thank me, I turned around and said "One sec," and ran back to the kitchen to get two granola bars, one of them for me of course. I went back down and threw it to him.

I returned to my room and started eating my lunch with Usagi watching TV, of course, she started chatting up a storm "So tell me about Ikuto. Where did you first meet him?"

"Well, over the summer I met him once at the park and then I realized he goes to the same school as me."

"What does he look like?"

"About the same height as me, probably an inch taller or so. Dark blue hair, blue eyes, sharp features."

"He's blue just like you!" said Usagi.

"Ironic, isn't it?"

"What's his body like?" Usagi asked, raising her eyebrows a bit.

"The boys' school uniforms don't show off much so I have no idea." "_But I'd like to find out_," I thought.

"What's he like?" Usagi asked.

"Really smart, has a laid-back and smooth personality," I said.

"You think he likes you back?"

"As a friend," I said solemnly.

"Ah, the dreaded FriendZone," said Usagi "I know it must suck."

"Yeah," I said.

"That's why I'm here," Usagi said "To make you stand out more. He probably only sees you as a friend because you're so shy, but if you gain a bit more personality, maybe he'll realize that he actually does like you."

"Not a bad idea," I said, pondering the thought.

"And if you could stand up to Yumiko, there's no doubt-" she froze.

"Usagi?" I questioned.

"There's an X-egg," she said.

* * *

I threw the door open "There's an X-egg."

Shiro came flying to my side and I began to tell Xander "I'll be right ba-"

"Wait, I have to come with you," he said.

"Why?"

"I may have been fired from the company, but that doesn't mean I can stop doing my job," he said.

"Whatever job that is, it's alright with me," I said, even though I had no clue what he was talking about "You can tag along, just don't get in the way."

* * *

We ran up to the huge soccer field at Seiyo Elementary just behind the forest. Xander and I stood back behind the fence that separated the field from the forest to avoid being noticed.

"It's out on the field, isn't it?" I questioned.

"Yeah, I see it," said Xander.

I watched as the people there quickly ducked for cover as the X-egg began to attack.

"Well that turned from bad to worse pretty fast," I said "Usagi?"

"Right!"

"Character Transform: Fuchsia Bunny."

"Usagi, what's my weapon of choice?" I asked.

"Final Blow, a double-sided mallet," I heard her voice say "Plus, you have more strength."

"Great," I said, I then flipped over the gate and bolted out into the field.

I stood in front of the X-egg.

"What is she doing?" "Who is that?" "A playboy bunny?" "Where'd she come from?"

As the X-egg began to attack I called out "Final Blow." to summon my mallet, its handle was nearly a yard long and the heads were nearly seven pounds.

As the X-egg shot black orbs at me, I swung the mallet with such skill and precision and blocked every single one of them.

Just then, it seemed everyone's (the X-egg as well) attention was directed at this girl in a cheerleader outfit. Oh my god, it's the girl from the construction site!

She began to speak to the X-egg, talking about how he shouldn't give up on his goal. "_She must be speaking indirectly to the boy who owned the X-egg_." It seemed to be working because soon, the X-egg started weakening.

Now's my chance.

I charged and jump into the air, then swung the mallet at the egg. When I landed, the egg was encased in a pinkish aura before exploding into a gentle burst of glitter and turning into a normal egg.

Everybody was in shock, even the pink-haired cheerleader. I walked up to her and said "Thanks for the extra help, y'know weakening it like that."

"H-How did you do that?" she stuttered.

"All my attacks purify X-eggs," I said.

"But only I can do that," she said "I used Open Heart because I have the-"

I gasped when I saw the Humpty Lock around her neck.

I began to undo the tie and blouse to expose my mark.

* * *

"So both Amu and Mitsuki are the owners of the Humpty Lock," said the blonde boy, whom I learned was Tadase "But because Amu found it first, Mitsuki just has the mark."

We were talking in the forest with some of Amu's friends. I felt weird being the only teenager out of all of them.

"But she doesn't use Open Heart," said Yaya.

"I know," said Tadase "I've heard of this before, Mitsuki is own of those owners who has a 'perfect heart'."

Amu seemed a little offended.

"It doesn't have anything to do with who you are or what you do," said Tadase "It just happens, some people just get a perfect heart. Because of this and the Humpty Key, all of Mitsuki's attacks purify X-eggs and her Characters are more powerful."

"So what do we do?" asked Amu.

"There's nothing to do," I said "We just have a little piece of information to remember-" I stopped when I noticed a familiar emblem around Tadase's neck.

"Tadase," I said "Is that…the Dumpty Key?"

"Yes," he said triumphantly "It took a while to get it back."

"It was lost, you're saying?"

"Stolen," he said "From this thieving cat, Ikuto. I should warn you about him, he's pretty troublesome."

I was silent, my jaw was loose but my lips remained shut. I swallowed hard "Did you just say Ikuto?"

"Yes. He's about your age and height, blue hair, blue eyes, has a cat Guardian Character," said Tadase.

"Whats wrong Mitsuki?" asked Amu.

I put on a fake smile "Nothing. Just wanted to make sure I heard you right," I stood up "But I've got to go kiddies." I left without paying any attention to their questioning.

* * *

"That was….interesting," said Shiro solemnly.

"Yeah…" said Usagi.

I wasn't speaking as we walked home.

"Don't be so upset," said Shiro "I don't think Ikuto's a bad person. I don't think anyone's in the wrong here. Perhaps Tadase and Ikuto share the same relationship you and Yumiko have."

"He called him a thief, though," I said "Sorry if I sound like I'm being immature, but I find it a little offensive."

"I would feel that way too, accusing _my_ man of stealing the Dumpty Key. Girl please!" said Usagi.

As usual, her confident style put me in a better mood.

"You know what? Now that I think about it, Tadase may _be_ in the wrong," said Shiro "The Key and Lock can belong to multiple people. Maybe Tadase got possessive over it when he gained the mark but saw Ikuto with the actual Key."

"I guess he would feel that way considering he's just a kid. Combine that with typical male jealousy," I said "And he seemed to like Amu. Maybe because Amu has the Humpty Lock and not the mark, he wants the actual Dumpty Key to feel more…." I searched for the right words

"Emasculated?" Shiro threw out "Maybe to measure up to size?"

"I'm sure Ikuto could measure up to size if ya know what I mean~" said Usagi.

I laughed. Shiro rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway.

Just then, a man jumped out the bushes, Xander.

"You scared the mess out of me!" I scolded.

"You were the one who left me out in the woods," he said.

"Oh yeah…my bad," I said "So were you able to get any work done?"

"Work?"

"You said that even though you were fired from whatever company you worked for, you still had to continue doing the work. So what'd you get done?"

"Oh, well I'm supposed to look for extra evidence after these X-egg attacks," he explained.

"Evidence of what?" I asked.

"Anything really. Anything that can help with research about Guardian Characters would count," he said "Unfortunately, I came up with nothing."

"Aw," I said "Well I came up with some evidence. I have a perfect heart."

"Yeah I know," he said.

"How?!"

"You purified an X-egg without using Open Heart," he said "Only holders of the Humpty Lock can use it."

"You know your research, huh?"

He nodded.

"_Hm, this guy is like a walking encyclopedia on Guardian Characters. I'll have to keep him around._"

**Mitsuki's outfit as Fuchsia Bunny: a magenta leotard with a sleeveless white blouse underneath. Over the leotard and blouse is a magenta tuxedo jacket and bow tie. Fuchsia hair, bunny ears, bunny tail, and white dress shoes.**


	6. Chapter 6

"I recommend you getting out of the house since none of us will be here," I told Xander as I got ready for school.

I heard him give a sigh and say "Fine."

Mom wasn't here at the moment so that allowed Xander and I to simply walk out the door together. Before I got on my bike, I said "We'll meet in the wooded area where the dirt road that leads to school is."

He nodded.

I sped off on my bike, leaving him behind.

* * *

I walked up to the school to find everyone in a huge crowd. When I parked my bike, I almost jumped when I heard Ikuto ask "What's going on over there?" I've noticed he has a habit of making a very inconspicuous entrance.

"I should ask you the same, since you got here before me and all," I said.

He smiled a little "I guess."

"Y'know, I'm not insane about gossip, but if whatever they're talking about gained this much attention, they've got me interested," I said.

"Same here," said Ikuto "But with all the people you can't single out one word out of all the conversations."

"Let me give it a try," I said, walking up to the crowd.

I was no more than three steps away from them when I noticed everyone gradually turning their attention to me. Their scared facial expressions made me a little scared as well.

I swallowed my confusion and simply asked "What's going on guys?"

Instead of answering me, they all whispered amongst each other and snickered.

Uh oh.

That is not a good sign.

I took notice as the crowd started moving and shifting, as if someone within was moving up to the front. I guessed right, someone was parting the crowd to get through: Yumiko.

"Here to apologize?" she asked.

The crowd was totally silent.

"For what?" I asked.

"For dissing me the other day," she said.

"What?"

"You heard me," she said "I was only trying to keep you from getting in trouble and you got mad at me."

"Oh, you mean that day at Seiyo," I said "Look Yumiko, I had to leave the school early to take care of something that really wasn't any of your business, I wasn't trying to ditch. You may have thought you were helping me out, but to me, you really weren't."

"You are such a defiant little bitch," she muttered under her breath.

"Excuse me?" I scoffed "And you say _I'm_ disrespectful?"

"Hey, you called me a bitch the other day so you have no room to talk."

"I didn't mean to call you that," I said, meaning it "It just slipped."

Wow, I sounded like a douche right now, and from the look on Yumiko's face, she was feeling the same way.

"You are unbelievable," she said before turning around and walking straight into the crowd as they parted for her. At the same time, everyone gave me confused and dark stares.

* * *

Throughout the rest of the day, the school was a minefield. No one dared to make any hasty actions and their eyes were on me and Yumiko.

I'll admit, all this attention was pretty uncomfortable. And since people never really paid attention to anything besides the fact that I'm an artist, I could hear them making new discoveries about me as I sat in class. Unfortunately, since most people took Yumiko's side, the comments weren't too nice.

"Why would a _girl_ dye her hair blue? Blue's the male trend!" "Maybe she's a lesbian." "Or transgendered." "At least Yumiko has the style sense to keep her hair a cute shade of pink." "And wear it so elegantly."

What they didn't know was that I was naturally born with this color hair. Techni-colored hair is pretty rare in the world and considered a real beauty to have, so thats why a lot of people like to dye their hair.

Wow, I completely ignored the fact that they're insulting me.

* * *

I sighed one of the heaviest, aggravated sighs ever conceived.

It was PE and I was up next for the hurdle, but the girls behind me wouldn't stop talking about me.

The teacher tilted her head at me to signal me to go next. I nodded and did a quick run before jumping. Somehow, I ended up doing a backflip, it was perfect except when my shoe caught the bar on the landing and knocked it down.

Everybody giggled from the tiny mistake like it was something hysterical, I tried my best to hide my slight discouragement.

The teacher didn't notice them and just smiled "Great backflip. You didn't have to do that but that was still great."

"Thanks," I said, brushing myself off as I got off the mat.

I sat down on the bench and embraced the bitter-sweet moment as I watched the others put back the bar and continue the hurdles.

After everyone finished, I felt a presence beside me "Rough day?" I heard Ikuto say.

I looked up at him.

"From the looks of it, everyone's been giving you the cold shoulder lately," he continued.

I blushed a little in embarrassment "Yeah…"

"Even something as small as the thing between you and Yumiko completely set off the whole school," he said.

Oh god…I hope he doesn't think I'm some trouble-maker now… "I didn't mean to do anything or make her mad," I said "I just had to take care of something, honestly."

"I believe you," said Ikuto, leaning back "Yumiko's pretty stuck-up and controlling, so it's hard to believe her when she says something's wrong in her world."

I was pretty shocked to hear this, everyone thought good of Yumiko. "You think so?" I asked "Everyone loves her."

"I don't," he said "Don't take this the wrong way, but I think she loves attention and gets on peoples' good side just for that. But whenever that attention's taken away from her, she gets mad." He turned to me "You for example. You're pretty cool, so you get a lot of attention."

I smiled "You think I'm cool." a statement rather then a question.

"Oh yeah totally," he said, smirking a little "A lot cooler than Yumiko ever could be, which is why she's clearly jealous."

I felt a blush come to my cheeks "_So this is what Ikuto thinks of me…_"

"Well don't let the other kids get to you," he sighed.

"I won't," I said "Thanks for the advice."

"No problem."

* * *

Oh my goodness, I've never been so happy to finally get out of the school!

Unfortunately I couldn't embrace the moment for long because as soon as I stepped outside the door, Usaig and Shiro exclaimed "X-egg!"

They zoomed off before I could even respond. I dashed after them for a while, determined to catch up with them. Just as I was about to lose the last of my stamina and breath, I came face to face with a planetarium.

"Unlock my Heart: Shiro," I said before entering. I knew it was in there and I'd better brace myself.

I struggled to open the door and squeeze inside, only to have the door slam on my wing once I was inside. I couldn't feel it but I knew I was stuck.

I heard a giggle "Need help?" asked a male voice.

I squinted and struggled to see "Who are you?"

I felt hands reach up to me, I quivered as his cold hands felt the wrong places. Either he was as blind as I am in the dark or he was perverted. Finally he reached up the my wing and released me.

"Thank you," I said.

"No problem," he said, I was finally able to get a good look at him. He looked like a mature Tadase, but I didn't like how superficial he looked. Sorry pal, you're not my type.

"So what brings you to my planetarium?" he asked.

"Sorry, I didn't know I was intruding sir," I said.

"You're a very pretty Guardian," he said.

"Thank you," I said, a little uncomfortable "I came here because I sensed an X-egg." now that I knew he knew about Characters, I could share this information with him.

"Oh, that was my fault, but I actually have some," he said, he grabbed my wrist "Let me show you."

I really didn't like how direct he was.

"You see, I just figured out a way to convert them back to normal eggs," he said as he showed them to me "But it takes a lot of time."

"I can purify eggs with my power," I said "I have a perfect heart, and I'm on of the holders of the Humpty Lock."

"Show me," he said with a smirk.

"Pastel Party!" I fanned the remaining X-eggs, returning them to their normal form.

"Amazing!" he gasped "You've even triggered one's hatching."

I looked down and saw a red egg with hearts on it shaking. Quickly, it burst open and a little cupid character hatched. She had orange hair in pigtails and a toga. "Surprise! I'm you're new Character!"

"What! How? Aren't you someone else's?" I gasped.

"No, I'm yours! I was just about to hatch, but when you purified this X-egg, you birthed me through the X-egg," she said "My name is Ai, I'm your desire to present yourself as a charming lady and to expel all untrue rumors about yourself."

"Well how do you like that," the man said "You're a very unique Guardian Miss…."

"Mitsuki," I said "And you would be?"

"Tsukasa Amawaka," he said.

Oh god, I knew I would have a tough time with that name….

Just then, the door burst open. I saw a group of girls from my school standing there.

I gasped and ducked behind the seats. I could feel Tsukasa grab the eggs and scuffle away.

"I saw her run in here…." I heard one of them say.

I felt them getting closer and closer.

"_Oh god, why does this have to happen to me?_"

"Transform into Scarlet Love" Ai said.

"Unlock my Heart: Ai," I said, desperate for anything.

"Use Potent Kiss," she said within me.

"I'm not gonna kiss them!" I squealed.

"Don't kiss them directly!" she said "Just blow a kiss, you'll see."

I sighed and stood up.

"Is that her?" one of them asked, squinting. "What is she wearing?" "What happened to her hair?"

I reluctantly blew a kiss into the air and whispered "Potent Kiss."

A big red lipstick mark split in fourths and planted themselves on each girl. They fell like dominos.

"Are they unconscious?" I asked.

"Looks like it," said Shiro.

"…isn't this kinda a bad thing?" I said.

"Nah, they'll be fine," Usagi said.

* * *

Scarlet Love: red hair, red corset, white elbow-to-wrist sleeves, white shorts with a red rose, red heels.


	7. Chapter 7

"You've got three Guardian Characters now?" questioned Xander the next morning.

"Apparently," I said "Where were you last night?"

"I was out looking for more evidence," he said "It took so long because there's been an outbreak of X-eggs, as you've noticed."

"True," I said, grabbing a cup from the cupboard "When I wasn't a Guardian, I never noticed the X-eggs before, and normal people can still see them."

"Yeah…." Xander said suspiciously.

"So whatcha wanna do today, Mitsuki?" asked Usagi, lounging on the edge of a counter along with Ai and Shiro.

"I wanna go to the promenade," I said, stretching "Just as soon as this coffee brews, I'll get my best outfit and I'm out the door."

* * *

"I needed this_ so_ bad," I said, waltzing through the promenade. I made sure to speak in a way so that it didn't show I was talking to my Guardians.

"You've been working pretty hard lately," said Shiro "A good day's pampering does a teenage girl good."

"Agreed!" said Ai "So do you plan to buy anything?"

"No, not really," I said "I'm not really much of a shopper. I just like the atmosphere, y'know?"

I stopped in front of a map to search for a store "Hmm…" I muttered to myself "I think that store is on there other side…" I began to walk through the door that lead to the outdoor portion of the promenade, but I stopped when I saw Amu in Ikuto's lap.

Wait a minute!

"What?" "What happened?"

I ignored my Characters and peeked closer at the scene: Yep, Ikuto was sitting pretty on a park bench and Amu sat uncomfortably on his lap with ice cream cones in her hands. She looked so out of place and caught off guard, as if she literally popped out of nowhere.

But what the hell could've been happening?!

Suddenly, Tadase stepped out onto the scene holding what looked like a napkin. He instantly looked enraged. He and Ikuto engaged in a dialogue I couldn't hear, Ikuto seeming in hindsight. Amu occasionally interjected but was the ignored third party.

At some point, Amu decided to get off Ikuto's lap and hurry to Tadase's side. Ikuto got up and casually left the scene.

Typically, after witnessing something like that, I would just exit stage right. Unfortunately, Amu caught sight of me before I could move. She waved shyly to me, Tadase waved too. Great, now I have to say something to them…

I walked outside with them "Hey, how's it going?" I asked.

"Fine if you don't count Ikuto's stunts," half-jokingly, half-annoyed said Tadase.

Wow, he decided to get straight to the point. I honestly hated the thought of the little brat bad-mouthing Ikuto, but I knew he was gonna tell me anyway. Amu's only input in his explanation was an occasional "It's not what it sounds like!" she was clearly embarrassed. The worst part is no matter what I said to defend Ikuto, Tadase would always answer it back with something like "It's intrusive!" or "I still don't like him doing that."

"He's just teasing you guys," I said, smirking at Amu "I been lets be frank, it's easy to startle Amu."

"I still don't like him doing that," said Tadase.

See what I mean?

"Look pipsqueaks," I said, a little irate "I know Ikuto, I go to school with him, we're good friends. Not to sound obnoxious, but I can honestly say that I know him a little better than you do. Also, there are just some things teens like Ikuto and I know that younger kids like you wouldn't understand."

Tadase shook his head disapprovingly, Amu seemed a tad irritated.

That's when I noticed something: our Guardian Characters were absent.

"Ai? Usagi?" I called out "Shiro?" Amu and Tadase caught up with me and also began calling out for their Guardians.

Holy crap, they're gone.

* * *

We spent the entire day of searching in and out the promenade and its neighboring property, which is exactly how Amu and I met up at the park hours later.

"Any luck?" I asked her.

She shook her head, exhausted.

"Looking for something?" taunted an unknown voice.

Amu and I turned and planted our eyes on a pre-pubescent girl with golden twin ponytails and purple eyes. A gold character floated beside her.

"Dia!" Amu said.

Then the girl turned to me and scoffed "So _you_ must be Mitsuki," in a distasteful tone.

"How do you know me?" I asked.

She didn't answer my question, instead she held up a red egg, blue egg, and pink egg all in one hand and said "I wonder which one I'll take."

"Wait, are those-!" I stopped when I realized she was holding my eggs.

"This red one seems interesting," she said.

"Wait, why are you taking _my_ eggs?" I scolded.

She tossed aside Shiro and Usagi's eggs like garbage in my direction.

"Hey!" I scolded, stomping my foot "If you haven't already figured it out, a Guardian's eggs are valuable and personalized. You can't just take them."

"Who are you to say I can't?" she replied calmly.

"Mitsuki Orina, that's who I am," I proclaimed "And if you don't give us back our eggs, we're going to have a problem, got it?"

"You don't scare me," the girl said "You're just a pretty face, and not even that much of a pretty face."

I clenched my fists in anger.

"Anyway, you're wasting my time," she said as she turned away.

"Oh no you don't," I said, grasping her shoulder.

She violently twisted away "Let go of me!" At that moment, she began to glow. Literally.

I backed away as I watched a new attire form onto her body. Then I faintly heard the words "Black Jewel."

I didn't react right away, unsure of what I was supposed to do with my recent anger. Behind me, I felt Amu transform also. I turned around and saw she had transformed into a pink angel alter ego, almost like a choir girl.

"Well, aren't you going to transform already?" asked Black Jewel.

I looked at her "You seriously want us to fight you?"

"Haven't you figured that out yet?" asked Black Jewel.

"I'm not going to fight you just because you're in a bitchy mood," I said through clenched teeth.

She scrunched her eyebrows in anger "Don't call me a bitch!" she swept her arm and suddenly, I was swept away by a black force and then thrown onto the grass. When I came to, I saw Amu hopelessly trying to go against this girl. Unfortunately, Amu's only ability in this form was a white flag of what seemed to be surrender. Shiro and Usagi quickly came to my side, but my sights were set on this troublesome girl and giving her just what she deserves.

"Unlock my Heart: Shiro."

"Get ready chick," I said to myself as I summoned my fan.

I fanned her and she became encased in a wave of colors. Amu looked back at me in surprise. "You okay?" I asked. She nodded. I should have been paying more attention to Black Jewel because another dark force came our way. In a hurry, I grabbed Amu and flew away.

* * *

I took Amu to my house to discuss the issue in safety.

"Sh-she took our Characters," said Amu in a shaking voice, unable to drink her offered beverage.

"Calm down," I said, holding her shoulder in reassurance "There's no reason we shouldn't be able to just take them back. First we have to know, who's that girl?"

"Utau Hoshina," answered Amu "She's an indie singer so she's fairly famous. She's also Ikuto's little sister."

I choked on my own drink in disbelief "That she-devil is related to him?!"

Amu laughed awkwardly.

"Do you know anything else about her?" I asked.

"Well, I know the name Hoshina is from the owner of Easter," Amu said "She might be contracted into Easter. Maybe even Ikuto is."

"What's Easter?" I asked.

"Some kind of greedy organization that stops at nothing to get the Embryo," Amu said "We suspect Easter's responsible for the X-eggs."

"Embryo…" I said to myself "I've heard of that before." Then I thought to the X-egg comment and said "I hope Ikuto isn't signed into Easter."

"Even if he is, it wouldn't be his fault," Amu said "Easter employs adults, even _young _adults have a rough time getting in. So if Ikuto or Utau were signed in, it was by force."

I shook my head at the depressing thought, but I pulled my head up and decided to get back on track "We have to find this Utau girl through the Easter files. If we can't, we'll try something else."

"Wait, why can't we ask Ikuto since he's her brother?" Amu asked.

"Ikuto probably has no idea this is going on," I said "Sure, he may know about Guardians, but Utau's probably living a secret life as a Guardian Convict that he has no idea about."

Amu nodded "So we'll just keep this between us, right?"

"Right," I said "Don't tell Ikuto, Tadase or anyone else."

* * *

First, of course, we tried to search the internet.

When we searched "easter" it just showed the holiday. Then I searched "guardian characters" and guess what happened to my computer?

Blue screen of death.

Wait, now it's pink.

Purple, green, yellow, orange, red, magenta, copper, mauve?!

Finally sparkles over took the whole computer "Your computer has now been set to Guardian mode. For safety purposes, this mode is only accessible to Guardians themselves."

"How come I've never heard of this?" asked Amu.

"You've never searched "guardian characters"," I said as I searched "easter" through our new browser. This time a website appeared, it was very business-like and colorless, this made it difficult to find what we were looking for. Thank god for the search bar they had.

Utau Hoshina. Search.

And there she is!

"Says she _used_ to be in," said Amu "So did Ikuto."

Turns out after Ikuto's father supposedly left, Kazuomi Hoshina married their mother, automatically employing Utau and Ikuto. That must suck.

I kept reading though, turns out the father never left, the mother just divorced him. Ikuto chose to live with his father and Utau with her mother.

Amu and I stayed silent in the somber moment of reviewing the poor kids' lives.

I broke the tension with a hollow sniffle and said "Let's just see when and where we could possibly meet up with Utau."

"Her concert schedules!" Amu said "Why didn't I think of this before?"

"Says she used to sing for Easter's indie band name Black Diamond, and now that she's no longer under their contract, she sings individualy," I said "It's called Ebony."

I exited the Guardian Character browser and restored my computer to its original state before finding and printing Ebony's concert schedule.

Check and Mate.


	8. Chapter 8

7:00pm at night. Mom is out at work, which means I should be in the clear by now.

I got dressed out of my school uniform and into something more casual.

"Get in your eggs guys," I said, turning to Shiro and Usagi "If this girl is an experienced Guardian, it's best that you stay unseen."

"Right." "Got it." each sealed themselves in their eggs. I grabbed my fanny pack and dropped them in.

Just before I left the door, I grabbed a jacket. Not only were the seasons changing, but it conceals the fanny pack too.

"Where're you going?" asked Xander's suspicious voice.

"Just going to hang out," I said.

"At night?" he raised an eyebrow.

I paused, trying to think of an excuse, all I could say was "You have your business, I have mine," I said, grabbing the doorknob.

"But-" I cut Xander off by opening the door and leaving.

* * *

I had agreed to meet Amu outside the concert. I ended up seeing a lot of girls with butterfly stickers and tattoos, blond hair pieces and/or twin tails styling, purple eye contacts and modern day gothic-lollita clothes.

Yep, I would definitely stand out in my jean shorts and pink hoodie.

"I'm here!" I heard Amu's voice say as she ran over to me.

"Great," I said "Because it looks like the show is starting now."

We entered just as the lights went out and the music started. Utau walked onto the stage in what looked like a black cocktail dress. Wow, and she's _how old?_

She began to sing. I have to admit, her voice was very smooth and powerful in comparison to the devilish mischief she had in her voice when we first met her.

Amu leaned over to my seat and asked "So we're going to try and find the eggs after the concert?"

"No," I said "We're going to sneak backstage now. She's not in the dressing room now so this would be the best time. But let's wait until after the first song."

So we sat through what was most likely the seven-minute concert version of what was probably just a three-minute song. I knew I wasn't the only one who noticed because the crowd became increasingly docile.

Wait a second, they're not moving at all. Did I miss something? Amu gave me a confused look too.

"Never gonna get it…" a voice said. Just then, my head started pounding. "You're never gonna get Ai and Dia back. Utau's got security everywhere!" I don't know who was saying this, but whoever they were, they were _loud_ and annoying.

I jumped out of my seat and ran out of the concert. Amu came running after me "Mitsuki what's wrong?" placing her small hands on my arm.

"Got a horrible headache," I groaned "I'll be fine, really. Come on, let's just go get our eggs back."

"I'll lead the way," said Amu "I've been to Utau's dressing room the last time she performed here."

I was relieved that we wouldn't have to go through a whole night's worth of opening every door in this building until we found the right one. I was also relieved that the menacing voice had stopped, almost scary how the voice mimicked Utau's, but more….high-pitched.

* * *

Amu stopped, forcing me to bump into her, she held her finger to her lips to signal silence. There was a low rumbling, growing louder and more powerful, to the point where my vision shook. Then the entire hallways filled with a black mass.

"Duck!" Amu yelled as she tried to push me out the way. I dived to the floor and covered my head. I felt my hair swirl around as black shrouded us. I opened my eyes to see it wasn't a mass, it was a bunch of eggs. X-eggs!

After what seemed like only a few minutes, they had all left us. Amu and I apprehensively got up from the ground. "Where-where did they all come from?" I asked.

Amu brushed herself off "Utau used to work for Easter, and they used her to make X-eggs out of her concert audience."

"Yeah but she quit," I said.

"That doesn't mean she chose to stop making X-eggs," Amu said, I could see in her face she was just now realizing it.

"That's horrible," I said "Why would she do that?"

"She must want that Embryo more than anyone," Amu said.

Just then, the horrifying rumbling came again. In fear, Amu and I ran….into each other. We knocked ourselves down and caused her purse and my fanny back to go flying into the air and smashing on the floor, leaving our belongings on the floor.

In panic, we scooped up our stuff into our bags and ran just before the wave of X-eggs could catch up to us.

* * *

I was breathing sharp wheezes and sweating bullets by the time I had escaped the X-eggs. Now I was faced with a problem: I had no idea where I was and Amu's gone. We must've ran opposite ways in the rush.

Now what do I do?

"Amu-chan! Amu-chan!" an unfamiliar voice yelped. My fanny pack was going nuts. I unzipped it to find none other than Amu's guardian, Ran and my character, Shiro.

Oops.

I slapped my forehead at my mistake. "Look don't worry, you still have me," said Shiro "Right now, we have to find that dressing room."

"Oh! I know where it is!" said Ran as she sprang out the bag.

"Lead the way then," I said.

* * *

"Slow down Ran!" I ordered as I ran after her.

"We can't waste time!" she argued.

"I agree with her Mitsuki, we have no time to just be waltzing arou-"

I didn't realize there was a flight of stairs in front of me. I tried to catch myself but it only resulted in me tumbling down less hard then I would have.

I ended up in a dark basement with tons of crates. "Uh-oh," said Ran "I think we went the wrong way."

I groaned and picked up my fanny pack, which had fallen off on impact. I noticed it was empty "Shiro?"

No answer. "Shiro!" Still nothing.

"Aw man," I muttered.

Just then a loud crash echoed the room. An X-egg that had now developed into a full X-character had pushed off the crate.

I froze. Of all the times an X-egg had to appear!

"Mitsuki! Transform!"

"What?"

"Don't waste time just open your heart!" Before I could argue with Ran I was washed over by a pink aura. I remember the familiar sensation of my clothes dissolving away as new ones appears. These clothes were a little….tight.

"Character Transform: Pink Cheer!" I was dressed in a cheerleading outfit, the same Amu wore as Amulet Heart.

"Throw the baton and say "Spiral Heart"!" ordered Ran from within me.

Just like my first day as Ivory Dove, I obeyed orders, not knowing what to expect.

The baton spun around the X-character, creating a pink circle around it. The X-character deteriorated and faded away as the circle neutralized it.

I sighed in relief and said "I'd better stay in this form, because I know that's not the last of them. However…" I looked at how exposing my outfit was "If someone where to see me like this…." Amu's tiny top looked cute and innocent on her, but it was no match for my developed E-cup. I tried to push the bottom of my breasts up to avoid falling out of the top completely, but it only accomplished making more cleavage. Don't get me started on her skirt! I knew my panties were showing in both the back and front, I also knew some of the the waist line was showing. This low-rise, hip hugging skirt was not doing me justice.

I could feel the stitches of the clothing stretching and giving out already and I hadn't even started walking.

I sighed and said "Guess I have to find this dressing room myself."

I had only made it to the top of the stairs and down the hall when I met up with Utau. She stared at me, blank-faced, I stared right back at her. I was scared of her reaction, I braced myself for her rage and competitiveness.

Instead she burst into laughter.

"Wh-what's so funny?" I asked, feeling almost embarrassed.

"This is so pathetic," she said "You've made a pitiful attempt of getting back your egg by using Amu's guardian character because you knew you were too weak on your own. It's sad that a high school girl had to rely on a elementary school girl to do something so simple."

My mouth fell agape at her accusation "Excuse me? You don't know anything about what happened!"

"Oh really? Then I'm guessing you're _not_ here to get your egg?" asked Utau.

"No I am-"

"Then I rest my case," said Utau, she inspected me up and down "Hmmm, and in the process you've managed to make yourself look more slutty and desperate. Why am I not surprised?"

"What did you just say!" I scolded.

"Mitsuki!" called Amu's voice. I looked down the hallway to see she was dressed as Amulet Heart too!

"Amulet Heart? But how-"

"I'm still Amu's Guardian Character, when you and I transformed, she transformed too," said Ran.

"Then why didn't I transform when Utau turned into Black Jewel that one day?" asked Amu.

"You and Dia didn't get a chance to bond, so Dia didn't allow you to transform," said Ran.

"You two are wasting my time," said Utau "I was supposed to change back into my normal clothes and go home by now. I'll let security take care of you."

"No," I said, grabbing her hand "You're giving us back our eggs. They don't belong to you and you know it."

"I don't have to do what you say!" Utau scolded "You're just some wannabe bimbo who has no clue what you're doing!"

"Bitch!" I slapped her.

There was an intense moment as everyone froze. Amu stood there scared. I stood there panting from my released anger. Utau stood there with a clenched jaw and reddening cheek. She shoved me out the way and ran out of sight.

We heard the exit door open and close, so that's where we went. As soon as we went outside, we separated and looking everywhere, but in the darkness we couldn't find a single trace of Utau.

After what felt like an entire half hour, my skin was shiny with sweat and I was panting. I rested on a tree, feeling completely defeated.

"Mitsuki?"

Ikuto's voice scared me, I looked back to see him run up to me.

"Mitsuki what are you doing here?" he asked, concerned. I could ask him the same!

"You-you're a Guardian Character?" he asked before I could respond.

I nodded.

"Why are you dressed as Amulet Heart?" he asked.

"Amu and I got our eggs mixed up, so when I found an X-egg I had to turn into Pink Cheer," I said that last part smiling awkwardly.

I knew he was eyeing my outfit, it must've looked so horrible on me with all this skin showing.

"You must be freezing," he said, removing his jacket and placing it on my shoulders. I blushed from his touch. "Let's go inside, I've gotta pick up Utau anyway."

I didn't protest, right now I felt relaxation in Ikuto's kind gestures.

As we walked, he said "Mitsuki, I have to tell you something..."

I looked up at him, what could he have to say? Is it-?

"I'm a Guardian too," he said.

Oh. "I know," I said.

He whipped his gaze at me "Uh-how?"

I tried to think of an excuse other than saying "I snooped around on your files" so I said "Yoru."

Ikuto sighed "Of course….the little mischief is always going where he's not supposed to be." He stopped walking then looked closer at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Is that…?" he pointed at my chest, confusing me. Then he said "The shadow of the Humpty Lock?" I looked down at the mark, which was now squished upon my cleavage.

"Mitsuki," he opened his shirt to show a mark on his chest: the shadow of the Dumpty Key.

"Ikuto…" I whispered, tracing my fingers down the mark. His chest was warm and smooth.

"Get away from him!" exclaimed a voice. All of a sudden, my wrists and ankles were encased in a glowing green form. Ikuto caught me before I could fall.

The man who was responsible for this waltzed out of the darkness: Xander.


	9. Chapter 9

"What is this?" I shuddered as Ikuto tried to free my hands from the glowing green binding matter.

"Don't waste your energy," said Xander "The more you struggle the tighter it gets."

Half-way through that statement, I hissed in pain as the binding squeezed the life out of my frail wrists.

I yelped when Xander tried to snatch me away from Ikuto's embrace, but Ikuto pulled back saying "Don't you dare touch her."

"Stay out of this," said Xander "Unless you want to go to Guardian Jail too."

"What!" I gasped.

"She didn't do anything!" argued Ikuto.

"Oh really, and what makes you such an expert?" retorted Xander "Ever since this girl became a Guardian, there's been more X-eggs and the more powerful she gets, the worse their attacks get."

I couldn't believe this accusation.

Xander reached out for me again "She has to be-"

Ikuto swooped me up and ran with me in his arms.

* * *

Ikuto carried me back into the building, into Utau's dressing room and leaned me against the wall. "Iku-" he interrupted me with a "Shh"

He pulled out a flick blade with a blue, glowing blade and began to slice through the binds as he said "I used to work for this company, Easter, that used this type of technology. Apparently that guy did too because these binds are given to the Easter officers."

There were harsh red marks where the binds dug into my wrists. "Thank you," I whimpered.

"No problem," he said, putting away the flick knife.

A wave of guilt fanned over me as I began to question why Xander would accuse me of the X-egg evolution outbreak. What could've caused it? Why did it start when I became a Guardian?

"I know it's not you're fault," Ikuto said suddenly.

"Hm?"

"I know you're not responsible for the X-eggs," he said "Something else is clearly going on."

"But what could it be? I didn't even notice that it started when I became a Guardian."

"If that's the case, maybe the person responsible had to upgrade their X-eggs when they saw how powerful you were," he said "Maybe a person with a perfect heart and an owner of the Humpty Lock is too much for them."

Ikuto's closeness brought warmth to my cheeks, the buttons on his shirt were undone and revealed the mark of the Dumpty Key on his chest.

He brushed one of my blue bangs out of my face and caressed my cheek, saying nothing. Then, the door burst open. Utau was in the doorway.

"You…you brought her here…" whispered Utau.

Oh Ikuto, how much drama you missed.

He awkwardly said "Utau, oh, did your show end already?" pretending to care what his wrist watch read.

Utau's face lit up with anger "How dare you bring her into my dressing room and actually….?!"

Ikuto was taken back by her anger "Actually what? What's wrong?"

I stood up to help the ever so clueless hottie "Uh, I don't know if your sister has informed you or not, but she apparently I rub her the wrong way."

Utau scoffed "_That's_ an understatement."

"I didn't even do anything to you," I muttered to her.

"Oh really? You sneak into my concert, try to break into my dressing room, slap me, disrespect me, shall I go on?" she said.

"I only came here because you took Ai and Dia," I claimed.

Utau put on a shocked face "How dare you accuse me of that!"

Crap, now she's lying in front of Ikuto, what do I do? Just then, I saw movement in her purse. Gotcha bitch.

"They're in your purse," I said walking towards her.

"What are you-? Get away!" she protested as I outstretched my hand. I was simply going to ask her to hand over the purse, but I guess she wanted to play "victim" in front of her brother and make it appear as though I were attacking her.

When she backed up into the wall, she took her water bottle and splashed me with it.

I gasped and stopped in my tracks. This water bottle was clearly in the freezer for some time.

"Jesus Christ!" I hissed, rubbing my eyes clear.

"Whoa, whoa, just hold on a minute!" Ikuto said as he came between us. He turned to Utau and said "I know Mitsuki and she wouldn't do any of that stuff to you."

"You've known _me_ your whole life, I'm your sister! You think I would lie to you?" Utau said.

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying I don't believe you," he said firmly "I think you don't get along with her and you're exaggerating to be the victim."

"But-!"

"And what did I hear about you taking Amu's and Mitsuki's eggs?" he interrogated intimidatingly.

"She's lying to you," said Utau.

"I know she's not, Utau."

She furrowed her eyebrows "Oh! You accuse me of lying but you refuse to say she is?!"

"That's because I'm telling the truth!" I blurted.

"No you're not," she said.

"Really? Then let's see your purse," I said.

"No! What's in here is my business," she argued.

"Utau, I'm a 16 year old girl. There's nothing in your purse I haven't seen before," I said casually.

"Why should I trust you? You're just some cheap high school slut," said Utau.

Ikuto's jaw tightened at this. He was clearly giving her one hell of a look because her response was "Wake up Ikuto! This promiscuous girl's been seducing you ever since she met you. She only wants attention, worthless pig."

"You know nothing about me!" I yelled before getting in her face and saying "I don't have to put up with you and your bullshit. I don't know what the hell is wrong with you, but you need to get some help."

I pushed past her and strutted out the room muttering "Lying bitch…"

* * *

I walked nearly two blocks away from the concert building, not caring how the ice water froze on my skin in the cold night air. I was done.

Let Utau keep my eggs. Let Amu face the X-eggs by herself. Let Ikuto think I'm a raging slut. Let me pay for it in the morning.

"Mitsuki-chan!"

I stopped walking and heard quick, heavy footsteps.

"Mitsuki-chan!"

I turned around and saw a boy running to me like his life depended on it. It was Ikuto.

Oh boy, this is going to be an embarrassing drama-bomb.

"Ikuto?" I said as he took his last steps to me. I allowed him to catch his breath, despite how hard he tried to speak through it.

"Catch your breath first, you just ran two blocks," I said, rubbing his back.

"I'm sorry," were the first clear two words out of his mouth "I really don't understand why Utau is acting this way, but I just want you to know I-I don't feel the same way…" he paused to catch his breath a little more "I don't think you did anything wrong, and even if you did, I still really like you Mitsuki."

The little bit of warmth I had left in my body rushed to my cheeks.

"I can only hope, after all this…you still like me too," he said.

It must have been true because the words literally spilled out of my mouth "Of course I like you," my voice a little soft from the yelling earlier.

He smiled warmly and peeled off his jacket and placed it over my bare shoulders. He muttered "Best news I've ever heard in my life."

He walked me home that night.

* * *

"I'm sorry things came out the way they did tonight," I said at the porch "I would never want to disrespect your family."

"It's not your fault," he said. He looked like he was about to say a follow-up statement, but he stopped and dug in his pocket saying "Oh yeah, before I forget…" he pulled out a red egg and a golden egg.

Ai and Dia! I gasped in joy and clasped them carefully.

"Make sure to get Dia to Amu the next time you see her okay?" he said, smiling.

I nodded and said "Thank you Ikuto, for everything. No matter what happens, you always find a way to fix everything."

Ikuto blinked in surprise and blushed modestly "It's no problem at all."

I opened the door behind me, paused, and said "Why don't you come inside for a rest?"

He sighed in what practically screamed relief and said "That would be great." Obviously he didn't want to walk all the way home after doing all that running.

* * *

"Wow, your Guardian life is…turbulent," said Ikuto.

I don't know how the conversation led to this, but by midnight, Ikuto was on the edge of his seat listening to every single aspect of my Guardian adventures so far.

"I can't believe you had so many things going on that you hid so well," he said before sipping the drink I provided him.

"Neither can I," I said "This has been a crazy few months," I looked down to see Ai's egg shivering "I'll be right back. I've gotta put Ai's egg in my room because she's getting too cold."

I grabbed her egg and went upstairs into my room.

As I leaned over my sock drawer to get an ankle sock to place her in, I heard a loud rip.

All of a sudden, I felt my chest drop. My top burst open!

Just then, I heard Ikuto step into the doorway saying "Mitsuki do you think you should bring Dia up here too?"

I knew I was in an awkward pose right now, one arm trying to recover my bust whilst hold Dia and a sock while the other tried to balance myself by clinging to the dresser.

"Yes, thank you!" I said, but by the time I finished saying that, Ikuto was beside me trying to hand me the egg.

"Are you okay?" he asked, observing my pose.

I sighed and muttered "My shirt ripped, can you please take the eggs and sock out of my hands?"

He hesitated, blushing a little at the awkward moment before carefully taking the eggs and sock and placing them on the dresser.

"When I turned into Pink Cheer, I gained Amulet Heart's outfit in Amu's children size," I said "So it's way too small for someone my size."

"Why haven't you transformed back yet?" asked Ikuto.

I shrugged and decided to try to do just that. "I-it's not working for some reason," I said.

"Oh well, that's not so bad, you look cute as Pink Cheer," he said.

I giggled a little and turned back to the dresser "As 'cute' as this may be, I can't stay in it all night." I looked up at the mirror and caught a glimpse of the Dumpty Key mark in Ikuto's reflection in the back.

I turned back to him and asked "Do you think there's a purpose for these locks and keys?"

"I think they show which Guardians are worth giving more power too," said Ikuto as he walked beside me "I honestly don't know how I could become an owner." He pointed at my mark as he said "But you clearly deserve to be an owner. It's not just how strong you are as a Guardian that counts y'know, it's also what's in your heart."

"But you have a good heart too, that's why you're an owner," I said.

"That may be, but I'm not strong like you, as a Guardian either," he admitted.

I would never suspect Ikuto to have insecurities, sure everyone does but still! "You earned this from the amount of potential you have, not just by random chance," I said tapping his mark "You can't tell me you're weak in any way."

There was a moment of silence as my words set in.

"I should listen to you, Mitsuki," he finally whispered. He caressed my cheek, bringing me closer "You bring out the strength in me…."

Our faces inched closer, closer.

Our lips met.

A comforting soft warmth washed over me that no other person has ever given me. His strong arms cradled my body with enough delicacy to make me fall apart.

I whispered against his lips "I love you."


	10. Chapter 10

I woke up in the arms of Ikuto the next morning, feeling his heart beat thump softly against my ear and feeling his slow, steady breath against my hair.

It was at that moment that I discovered the absence of our clothes. I panicked and then tried desperately to scrap up any memories of our activity last night. I then found a new sense of relief to remember that we didn't go completely all the way. Instead we had simply explored our bodies in other ways that kept my cherry intact.

Instead of feeling guilty at doing something so risky at such a young age, I felt a sense of freedom. Last night I had completely forgotten all of my stresses. I had forgotten my eggs, school, Amu, Utau, Xander, everything and expressed my love to Ikuto.

Who, speaking of which, had apparently woken up because he was stroking my hair now. Without the need of any exchange of words between us, I sat up in bed and stretched.

My phone rang, I considered ignoring it and returning to Ikuto's embrace, but I knew it would backfire in the end if I let it go now.

"Hello?" I asked.

"I'm in your house."

I nearly dropped the phone at this. I knew Ikuto heard because I felt him stir beside me.

"No you're not, you jerk," I said, trying to sound like I had the upper hand.

"Believe what you want, don't blame me when you wind up dead," said the voice "Actually, it'd be right to blame me."

The line went dead at that point along with the power. Even though it was bright early morning, you could still feel the energy in the house die out.

Before I could even gasp, Ikuto whispered in my ear "Get dressed, we're going out the window."

He retrieved his clothes from the floor while I got a fresh outfit from my drawers, neither of us daring to make a single noise.

I was first to ease out of the window, I tried to be quick so Ikuto wouldn't be left for dead too long. I leaped from my window, landed on the soft grass, and waited for him to do the same.

The minute he did, we ran.

* * *

He took me to his house, no one was there so it was easy access. We literally walked right in.

"That sounded like the guy who attacked you the other night," said Ikuto.

"Xander," I gasped.

"What's with that guy anyway?" he asked.

"He rubbed me the wrong way the first time I met him," I said "He pulled a gun on me and demanded the Embryo, as if I'd actually have it!" I scoffed at that last bit.

Ikuto shook his head as if to say he's experienced maniacs like that before.

"After that, he met me at my house and asked if he could stay over-"

"Why?!" Ikuto asked in great disbelief before I could finish my statement.

"He said he got fired from his job and had nowhere else to go," I said "You said he used to work at Easter because he used Easter technology?"

"Yeah," Ikuto said almost dismissively "You didn't actually let him stay, did you?"

"What choice did I have? I couldn't just turn him to the streets," I said.

Hmmm…why am I detecting more jealousy in Ikuto's eyes than concern? "The guy pulled a gun on you and you turn around and let him stay at your house."

I sighed and said "Well, he was well-behaved after that, until recently when he tried to kill me…"

Ikuto tried to suppress a giggle at the casualty in my statement. He was able to swallow it and say "He probably had good intentions. He's just a former Easter employee who thinks he's doing the right thing."

"Right," I said "He thought I was responsible for the outbreak of X-eggs, this means we could probably fix this with a simple talk."

"It shouldn't be too hard to convince him you're good," said Ikuto "I mean, how could a face this cute possibly be evil?" I blushed as he pinched my cheek.

But the question remained: What is our next move?

"So…if we explain to Xander what happened, we'll be in the clear," I said.

"_If_ he decides to believe us," said Ikuto "And only if we find him….and if we find him, lets hope he chooses to hear us out before attacking again."

Unfortunately, I knew he was right and this wasn't going to be easy in any way.

"So how do we go about this?" I asked.

"First, we need to get our eggs because we're perfectly vulnerable this way."

At this moment, I realized we had left our eggs back at my house. Ikuto must've seen this in my face because he whispered "Don't worry, I swiped Yoru before we left."

He pulled out his egg, Yoru must've been asleep since Ikuto was so careful not to disturb him.

"I'm sure you can transform with him too, since you seem to have the talent for bonding with peoples' Guardian Characters," he said that last part a bit flirtateously.

I knew a smile was creeping on my face.

He placed the egg in my palm and enclosed my fingers around it "I'm giving you Yoru so you can transform if you need to."

He then pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number, whoever it was didn't pick up this time…or the next seven times.

"Who are you trying to call?" I ask.

"Utau," he said "She still has your egg and Amu's egg."

"Oh right…" I said.

After an eighth failed call, he said "She's ignoring me. She wants me to meet her face to face."

"So because she's mad at you, she wants you to apologize in person?" I questioned.

"Yep, and she knows that I know where she is this time of day."

* * *

We walked all the way to the park, Ikuto said Utau liked to come to the park in the early afternoons. "Is that her?" I asked, tilting my head at a blonde girl on the bridge.

"Yeah," he said.

Utau turned her head eagerly at us, but then her face fell when her eyes set upon me.

"You brought _her_ with you?" she said bitterly once we were within hearing range.

"I'm here for the eggs, not your jealous mouth," Ikuto said with twice the bitterness.

"Why do you like these girls so much?" Utau suddenly asked "You're always around the most intolerable, stupid girls."

I was offended, but I held my tongue to see where Utau was going with this.

"Amu's just an overly dramatic brat and this chick's just a dumb bimbo," spat Utau.

"Oh yeah, like you're acting any better," said Ikuto "So am I going to get the eggs or what?"

"No! I hate her, why should I give her any type of respect?" suddenly scolded Utau.

"Look, just because you hate someone doesn't give you the right to wrong them, especially if they've done nothing to you," I said "No one asked you to like me, just hand over the eggs that _aren't yours_."

"Mitsuki!"

I looked to my right to see Amu and Tadase bounding after me.

"Guys! What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Ran came back from your house and told me there was a guy chasing after you," Amu explained.

"Mitsuki are you guys alright?" Tadase asked.

"We're fine, we're fine, we're just trying to get Utau to give us our eggs," I said.

"Not happening," Utau said.

"Obviously," I said flatly.

On the horizon, I could see the rest of Amu's friends running our way. Well, I guess it's good to have reinforcement.

Again, we went through the trials and errors of "Are you alright?" and "What happened?"

Utau must've gotten impatient because she began to walk away.

"Uh-uh! Where do you think you're going?" I asked.

"You guys have an annoying habit of wasting my time," she said "I have no desire to deal with you."

I reached out for her shoulder, but she swished around. This move knocked her purse into the air, so did her eggs.

Amu, Utau, and I exchanged a challenging glare before leaping to grab the eggs.

In the end, Amu and I had Ai and Dia. Utau had her angel egg (whose name I haven't learned) and Yoru.

Wait, we also had an extra egg…a devil egg.

Amu and I both had our hands on it at the same time, before we could even consider whose it was, the egg said "Alright! New owners!"

Everything went red from that point.

"Character Transform: Amulet Devil!" "Character Transform: Rouge Evil!"

Amu was dressed in a cute outfit that consisted of a red bat-belly shirt, a red pair of shorts connected to a pair of striped stockings, and a black bat hat.

I wore the same exact thing….but not as cute. My bat hat was merely a bat ponytail-holder, my stockings were bound to my tiny shorts only by a pair of garters. My bat shirt, as you guessed, showed way too much cleavage.

I gasped as my bust nearly slipped out. "I'm getting really tired of these skimpy outfits!" I said.

"Suits your kind right," say Utau.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" I scolded.

Utau leaned to the left as if to look behind me and said "That better not be a nosebleed I see!"

I looked behind me to see Ikuto clutching his nose while Amu's male friends' noses were either leaking or on the verge of bursting.

This is not my day.


	11. Chapter 11

"Hm," said Utau in a mocking tone "Such ignorance."

I sighed and said "I'm not going up against someone like you over some jealousy issues. Just hand me my eggs so-"

I stopped when I remembered something "Ikuto, didn't you bring me Ai and Dia last night?"

"I found out this morning they were just fakes," he said.

"Eh?!" Utau suddenly said "What were you doing at her house last night?!"

I smiled wryly at her.

"You!" she growled vengefully at me. I didn't expect her to lunge for me, though.

Tadase ended up jumping between us and extending his arms to put more distance between us. His cheeks blushed practically purple when his hand pushed against my bust.

I didn't react though.

"We're going in circles here," Ikuto said in the distance.

"Exactly," Amu agreed "We're getting absolutely nowhere closer to solving this argument."

"All we know is Utau doesn't like the fact that Ikuto likes us," I said.

"You'd feel the same way," said Utau, who'd calmed down enough to speak to us "If your family became friends with someone you don't like, you'd feel the same way."

"I'd _feel_ the same way, but I wouldn't try to ruin their lives," I said "Look, when my mother started dating someone I didn't like, I told her, but I didn't try to sabotage their relationship. Sure, they ended up breaking up, but it wasn't because of me."

"How do you know?" asked Utau.

She caught me on this one.

After an awkward pause, she sighed and pushed two eggs in my face.

Ai and Dia!

"Here," she said "Take them before I change my mind."

I was tempted to ask if they were fake or not, but would she really say yes? Luckily, the eggs hatched and answered my question for me. Ai snuggled up against me as the red heart on my Humpty Lock mark glowed a bit while Dia zoomed over to Amu.

"Don't expect me to like you," said Utau "But don't expect me to sabotage you either."

That was good enough for me.

"Now," she abruptly said "You do the same for me: give me back Ill."

"She's all yours," I said, stepping back and opening my arms.

As Amu and I returned to our pedestrian forms, Ill materialized before Utau and returned to her egg in almost a defeated manner.

"That solves that," said Amu.

Then I heard a gun click, followed by a "Not quite."

Xander.

I was even more fearful at the fact that Xander seemed to appear out of nowhere without anyone detecting him than the fact he was holding a gun at my head.

"Anyone transforms, I'll blow her brains out," he said, cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"What do you want from her?!" Tadase blurted out.

"She's been making all these X-eggs around Japan, it's a good thing I caught her when I did," Xander grabbed my arm and in one swift movement, twisted me around and pinned me to his body "You like screwing around with people's eggs?" he hissed ominously in my ear.

I shuddered, speechless.

"Mitsuki's not responsible!" Amu yelled.

"Hm?"

"Look man, I can guarantee you that you've got the wrong girl," I heard Ikuto say "We think whoever did this is just upgrading their X-eggs because they fear Mitsuki could stop them."

Xander turned to Ikuto, also forcing me to face him. He pointed his gun at me like it was nothing and said "You like this chick, don't you?"

A blush came to Ikuto's cheeks, he looked down soberly and said "I love her."

Before I knew it, I was blushing.

"Kids…" muttered Xander "You don't know the meaning of love. Boys like you see a hot girl and automatically think you're in love when you probably can't even stand her."

Ikuto rolled his eyes and scoffed "You don't even know her!"

"Apparently you don't either, considering you didn't even know she was an Guardian Convict," said Xander.

"I'm not! It's all a misunderstanding!" I finally exploded.

"Shut your mouth," Xander said, pressing the barrel of his gun to my cheek "Or better yet, make it useful~"

Ikuto's face fell in disbelief.

Xander snickered and whispered in my ear "You know…I could make a proposition for you. If I turn you in for what you did, you'd be charged with life in the Guardian Penitentiary," he slowly hunched me over and rubbed against my rear as he said "But, I could let you go on house-arrest instead….at my house."

"Mitsuki, what is he talking about?" I heard Amu ask.

"You'll understand what I mean when you get older, kids," said Xander.

Ikuto's jaw clenched tight at this, his glare was dark and murderous.

I couldn't believe this, I let him stay at my house and now he was asking me to be his personal prostitute versus being sentenced to life in jail!

I tried to keep my composure and pride intact and look unbothered by his sickening proposition.

"Did you forget I'm the one with the gun?" I heard Xander say. It was at that moment I noticed Utau handing Ikuto Yoru's egg.

Ikuto's face softened in defeat and placed Yoru back in his pocket.

"Now then, if no one else wants to put their two cents in-" Xander was cut off when a blunt object flew past him and knocked him over.

I saw Amu had turned into Amulet Heart and tossed her baton at him. Tadase was just finishing up his transformation.

"Mitsuki!" Amu called as she tossed Shiro's egg at me. At this point, I had lost track of who's eggs were in who's position, so I made no question as to how she ended up having Shiro.

I simply grabbed it, transformed, and readied my weapon.

At this moment, we were all at a stand still.

Everyone had transformed and was aiming their weapon at Xander, who was still on the ground pointing his gun at me.

He put the gun down on the ground, stood up, and smugly smiled "I'm just doing my job. She's committed a serious crime and needs to be taken in." He spoke as if we were all five-year-olds.

"How many times do we have to tell you: you've got your evidence wrong!" said Ikuto.

"Yeah! Only an idiot could even picture Mitsuki doing something like this," said Utau.

"Don't insult my intelligence girly, I'm an Easter official," he said.

"You got fired for a reason!" I blurted out.

Xander's expression deepened in anger "I'll shoot," he grabbed the gun.

"We'll attack," Amu said "You're completely outnumbered here."

Xander chuckled "Please, Easter officials like me are always put in positions like this. You think my weapons are no more powerful than yours?"

Ikuto's and Utau's expressions turned to worry, which made me worry. It must be true seeing as how they were former-Easter employees. So we're sunk.

"Please," I said "You have to believe me, you have the wrong person. Whoever is really doing this is still out there, putting us all in danger. We're wasting time when we could be saving eggs."

"Ha! I'm wasting no one's time, I've got all day chick!"

As he taunted me with every last sexist, demeaning remark, I couldn't help but notice the sky darkening and the wind beginning to stir.

I gasped when I saw what was in the horizon.

Everyone froze at the sight, even Xander dropped his gun.


	12. Chapter 12

I couldn't believe my eyes.

As the storm clouds rolled in and the wind became unusually benign, there she was: Yumiko is a royally gothic gown, surrounded by an impossible number of X-eggs.

As she approached, I noticed the menacing gleam in her eyes, as if she was possessed. My guess was that she probably was, she was merely a puppet for a greater force to control.

Xander began to fumble with the gun, but an X-egg zoomed into him, causing his body to convulse. He fell limp on the ground.

One of Amu's female friends screamed in shock.

I didn't know where to place my fear: Xander's potential death lying just before me or Yumiko and her army of X-eggs.

"So you've finally figured it out," I heard her say. Despite her possible possession, her voice was completely unchanged.

I looked up to see she was growing closer to me "And here I was thinking you'd be the last to get it."

Ikuto's metal claw came between us "Don't touch her."

Yumiko gave him a dismissive look and stared straight back at me.

All I could say at that moment was "Why?" I gritted my teeth as I looked beyond her at all the eggs. For every egg there was a suffering child. There had to be millions of them.

"What kind of a monster are you...!?" I gasped.

Yumiko smirked "Oh Mitsuki, you were always so naive. I guess it's really no surprise that you don't understand," she said "X-eggs are the diamonds of all eggs. More of them means more power and the greater possibility of finding the Embryo."

"Okay, what _is_ the Embryo?" I asked. It's been mentioned multiple times, but no one ever seems to feel like explaining.

Yumiko shook her head and chuckled under her breath "Such an idiot," she said "It's the most powerful talisman in the Guardian Character world. It grants whatever wish the holder wants and there is no limit to the quantity or quality of the wishes."

This scared me, not because it was so surreal, but because of the thought of Yumiko possessing it. If she had the heart to damn all those people, imagine what she's do with an endless amount of wishes.

"Unfortunately, you kept getting in the way of my attempts of getting the Embryo," she said "Every time I thought I found it or evidence that would get me closer to it, you would destroy the X-egg it was residing in."

She got closer to me "Not only that, you're Perfect Heart would weaken my power. But not today…" she said "I've infused the energy of my X-eggs to get enough strength to make me invincible and defeat you."

"Don't even try," scolded Ikuto "I won't let you."

Again, Yumiko gave him a dismissive look, but this time she swiped her hand.

My ears were deafened by a heavy whooshing sound.

Yumiko and I were alone now.

"Ikuto!" I called out in a panic "Amu! Tadase! Guys!"

They were no where in sight.

"We're in the eye of the tornado, Mitsuki, no one can hear you," said Yumiko "Your friends are being devoured by my X-eggs as we speak."

I tried to run out, but the winds created a solid wall around us.

Yumiko summoned a golden scepter "Pull out your weapon," she said "I want you to fight back. Challenge me."

I summoned my note-fan and used Writer's Block. To my dismay, she destroyed it the second the barrier materialized.

Chunks of the barrier hit me and I was forced to run away.

"I said challenge me and you can't even do that!" mocked Yumiko.

I jumped into the air and flew high into the tunnel. I summoned my rainbow fan, duplicated them, and spun around as I used Pastel-Party.

As I hoped, this created a flurry of pastels within the tunnel. I stopped when I became engulfed in my own pastels, which I was immune to.

I then waited.

The docile atmosphere made me think Yumiko was defeated, but then I was hit. I screeched out in pain as I was knocked out of the air and crashed onto the hard concrete.

I looked up at her. Her scepter was absorbing all my pastels like it was nothing.

"My turn," she then said.

The pastels that got absorbed into her scepter's jewel blackened and lunged out at me. I had no idea what it was doing to me because it blocked my sight. I couldn't single out if I was being bashed against the walls of the tornado or if it was infusing pain into my body.

When it was finished with me, I fell back onto the ground, scratched up and bruised.

Yumiko sighed "That was disappointingly short…" she said "Geez Mitsuki, you even make killing you lame."

She stared down at me as I lied crumpled on the ground, unable to move.

Suddenly, we both heard the dual voices of Tadase and Amu over wash the tunnel "Platinum Heart!"

The walls were broken down and light flooded over. I was blinded for a short moment before seeing Amu as Amulet Heart and Tadase as Platinum Royale. Their backs were to me as they watched Yumiko become engulfed by the light and the walls come crashing down on her.

I stood up slowly, mesmerized by the sight. Eventually, Ikuto came to my side, ready to shield me if anything strikes, but it seemed there was no need.

Yumiko now lied unconscious on the ground.

"Now," said Tadase "To help the others with the X-eggs."

"But we're still in one of the tunnels," said Ikuto.

I looked around; he was right. We were in another, even bigger, tunnel.

"She must have a system of these set up," he said.

Suddenly, we heard a sinister snicker, followed by a "You shouldn't have done that."

Yumiko was getting up now, she looked practically unharmed. "You think you can win that easily? This isn't a fairytale!" she sounded more angered rather than taunting now.

Suddenly, I was lifted into the air as dark purple matter shrouded me. The matter sent a network of intense burning pain into me. My screams sounded muffled inside the thick, molasses encasement. I could see through the matter but the image was like looking through murky purple water. I had no idea what was going on or what I was looking at.

I don't know how long this went on, but I eventually felt my body starting to give out. I was fading in and out of consciousness. My senses became more and more dulled than they already were. I could no longer flail my limbs in resistance.

Silence fell and blackness poured in.

After what felt like ages, a muffled noise slipped into my eardrums. Each time it repeated, it became closer and more clear. Someone was calling my name.

It stopped when I felt the familiar sensation of a second body holding me. My mind flashed to the night in my bedroom when I first made love. It's Ikuto.

I don't know how it happened, but pretty soon, I was looking into those eyes again.

Black Ivory.

Our power combined into one; Black Lynx's energy embraced Ivory Dove's. I could feel it all.

I was freed from my prison and wrapped in the cool embrace of Ikuto's arms. I looked around; our combined power broke done the final tunnel. We were now looking at the park again.

There were more X-eggs than ever now, they completely covered the sky. Every so often, you would see the colorful streak that was Amu's friends' attempts at destroying them.

It was scary; it was like witnessing the apocalypse. The four of us felt completely cut off from the world we used to know. It's as if we're the last survivors on the entire planet.

We all looked at each other with the same thought: This is beyond our power.

Amu fell to her knees, her eyes was shadowed over in a blank stare.

"Amu?"

She was silent and still. Instantly worried, I beat Tadase and Ikuto to it and ran over to her side.

"All these people…." she whispered, more so to herself than I "Their dreams…they're all…."

Suddenly, Yumiko materialized before us.

"Why!" Amu scolded before any of us could even react to her miraculous recovery "Why would you do this!"

Yumiko smiled "You know why."

"Do you know what you're doing to all these people!?" Amu yelled "When you take their dreams, you practically take away their souls!"

"I don't care! Their souls are my power," said Yumiko "It's not like I'm killing anyone."

"It's no different from killing!" scolded Ikuto.

Yumiko stared at the blackened sky which much intensity in her copper eyes "Such gems their souls are…" she said dreamily "Yet so many fools have no idea what to do with them. Wasted. Just a waste."

She then lowered her gaze back at us "Some people don't even know the treasures they hold. That's when the knowledgable have to step in and take it and put those treasures to good use."

I heard Ikuto growl "You heartless bitch…"

"Ooh," cooed Yumiko "Such a nasty mouth your boyfriend has, Mitsuki."

_Don't you dare touch him._

_Don't you dare touch him._

_Don't you dare touch him._

Yumiko looked over at Ikuto in silence, motionless, with that same mischievous grin spread on her face. My heart pounded with the intensity of a mallet. She's taunting me.

The minute she brought her scepter up to fighting stance, I jumped like a loaded spring. I ended up paying the price for it by getting electrocuted by its beam.

Yumiko laughed "Typical air-headed Mitsuki! Always letting her guard down just for a worthless cause."

Tadase and Ikuto rushed to my side. I would assume with Amu being so close to Yumiko and being so traumatized, she stayed in place out of fear.

I could feel blood trickling out the corner of my mouth. I was so weak at this point, my eyes seemed to be the only things properly working. I tried to at least squint so I could see what Yumiko had in store for me next.

I heard her sigh and say "As much as I'd hate to say it, your eggs are lethal. If I don't take care of you now, you could be a major threat to my plan."

"You're not going anywhere near her!" yelled Tadase.

"Hm! I'm not even going to waste my time with you two Romeos," Yumiko said.

"Take me!" silence fell with this statement.

I squinted harder to see Amu walking up to Yumiko.

"I have four eggs and I'm a holder of the Humpty Lock," Amu stated.

"Oh, _four_ eggs you say?" I heard Yumiko say "Hm…Mitsuki's a Humpty Lock holder too…and she has a Perfect Heart. But she has one less egg…" she seemed to be reasoning aloud which she should take as though it were jewelry she was dealing with "Considering the number of eggs is the most valuable attribute…Amu."

Had my body not been paralyzed, I would have had a full-blown panic attack. Although, I did have enough strength to utter these words in a hoarse, wavering voice "N-No….it can't end-d like….this."

"Ah, so you're still not dead yet, huh?" said Yumiko "Looks like I'll-"

"W-Why couldn't we do it?….If-f we're G-Guardians, why couldn't we save ourselves….f-from this fate?…It's not-t fair….No one deserves this."

The last thing I remember was my body coming out of it's numbness and being consumed by an unknown force.

I was in a golden field. The wind was cool and refreshing. The smooth blades of plant tickled my knees. My hair was undone and whirled carelessly along with the wind. I was in a white silky gown.

"Mitsuki-chan!"

In the distance, I saw Amu running towards me. Her hair and attire was the same as me. The pure smile of happiness on her face brought me to tears of joy. I ran back to her.

She fit perfectly in my embrace. "Why're you crying?" she asked when my tears reached her hair.

"I'm just so glad that you're alright!" I said through my trembling voice.

Amu hugged me back "I'm glad you're alight, too."

After that, she looked around and asked "Where are we? What happened?"

A voice said "You're inside the Humpty Lock." It sounded like it was inside my head, though. Despite this, I could see that Amu heard it too.

Dia appeared before us, she was accompanied by another Guardian Character. She had long golden locks of hair and a white fluffy gown.

"Mitsuki," said Dia "You've created another Guardian Character, Koko."

"Koko?" I repeated.

"I was born from your desire to every egg," said Koko "We can do good, but to do great, we need Amu and Dia."

"We need you to transform into Golden Wish and Amulet Diamond," said Dia.

"How do you know this will work?" asked Amu.

I wondered the same.

"Amu," said Koko "There are just certain things Guardian Characters are born knowing."

"Trust us," said Dia.

I looked at Amu. She looked at me.

Somehow, despite all the things that happened, this little action was completely reassuring.

"Open My Heart: Unlock!"

The field soon disappeared and was replaced by mass of gold and white. Amu was in in this mass with me too. Although my vision was heavily blurred, I could see our gowns were gone and Dia and Koko were between us.

In perfect sync, the two became encased in their own eggs. Dia then dissolved into Amu's chest as Koko dissolved into mine. I held Amu's hand, just out of instinct.

I felt the clothes forming all at once. First came the multiple layers of lace from my fluffy white skirt. Then came the thin, silky straps on my arms and legs. I then felt the light silky halter top form around my chest. Finally, my gold pieces and high heels appeared.

* * *

Ikuto held his head down next to his lover. She was gray and limp, so was Tadase's lover. Tadase continued to shake her in hopes of regaining her consciousness. Ikuto gave up, on the brink of tears.

Yumiko studied the two gray girls' bodies "Hm," she said "When I took the everyone else's eggs, this didn't happen to them." She then felt a shift in the atmosphere.

Something wasn't right.

Darts of white and gold began to flash across the sky, slow at first, picking up speed. "_What's going on?_" she thought.

Meanwhile, Amu and Mitsuki were on a mission.

Amu was in Scotland of 1854, healing a girl's corrupted egg with her Humpty Lock. Mitsuki was in Brazil of 3020 healing a man's corrupted egg with her Humpty Lock. They spanned the entire world throughout all timelines to save heal every X-egg that has ever existed and can exist. Every suffering soul was now healed. Everyone was reborn again. The world was reborn.

* * *

"Spiral Heart!"

The teenage Amu's baton hit the target with clean precision.

"Excellent work, Hinamori-san," said the coach "Next!"

An adult Mitsuki walked past the school campus and waved to the pink-haired adolescent as her boyfriend gabbed away about how much his sister was getting on his nerves.

"Just give it time," said Mitsuki "You have to be patient with her."

Ikuto sighed in resignation and said "You're always right." before kissing her cheek.

* * *

___When Amu and Mitsuki healed everyone, it caused every existing Guardian of all forms to be a holder of a Humpty Lock or Dumpty Key. This caused everyone's dreams to become pure and protected. Therefore, X-eggs were an impossibility._

_Because of the nonexistence of X-eggs, Guardians were no longer kept a secret. They were put through schooling and training. Their powers opened many doors for advances in technology. All the events that happened when X-eggs did exist are not remembered by anyone, not even Amu and Mitsuki._

_Some things stayed the same, however. Amu still became friends with her fellow Guardians. She's sixteen now and in a relationship with Tadase. Utau is in college now and still pursues her goal as a singer. Mitsuki and Ikuto still ended up befriending Amu and the others back in high school. At the age of twenty-two, Ikuto proposed to Mitsuki._

_That isn't the best of it all though. Xander became the president of Easter, meaning Ikuto and Utau's family never had to suffer being bound into their contract. __Because of the nonexistence of X-eggs, Yumiko never became an X-egg proxy. She lived a normal, healthy lifestyle._

_And it all started with a simple dream._

_~Open My Heart~_


End file.
